One Fine Day
by gizzymoon
Summary: Annie puts a plan into motion that will make Jeff see her as an adult.
1. Chapter 1

His strong arms came around her and folded her into the solid warmth of his chest. She sighed as her body slumped against him. She'd been fighting this thing between them for far too long. It was time, well past it, to just let herself have what she so desperately wanted.

It had taken her over, this thing brewing just under the surface every time she was around him. When he wasn't there, their next encounter was all she could think about. When he was around, every movement he made occupied her brain. It was taking over her life, filling up every spare second of her time.

His lips fell to hers and she let herself get swept away by the feel of him. He was strength and power, stability and safety and she needed all that. She felt so alone, adrift at sea without another soul in sight. She was too young to be so alone. She wasn't ready. And when he was this close to her, she felt protected.

"Annie," her name was a whisper falling from his lips like a prayer and somehow it made her feel empowered, but by what she wasn't sure. This was new territory for her, unfamiliar territory.

She felt suddenly off-kilter, unbalanced and unprepared and it wasn't a feeling she liked. Her previous experiences with this had not equipped her for dealing with him. He wasn't just some guy, he was a man, a virile, experienced, mature man and if this went on, he would know that she was still a child. Any second now he was see and this would be over. His moral compass, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, would kick in and it would be done.

Because she knew that no matter how many times she proved to him that she wasn't a child any longer, she couldn't completely convince him. It was how he saw her, how he had always seen her. Seeing her flustered and unsure of herself right now would do nothing to change that image.

Drawing on every reserve of strength she could muster, she pushed him away and untangled herself from his grasp. Once free she fled to the other side of the room, putting as much distance as she could between them.

He was hot on her heels, refusing to let her run away from him. She stopped when she realized she had no where else to go but refused to turn back to him. His hand fell to her shoulder and she winced against the sudden heat on her skin. His touch burned right through the material of her shirt.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, quietly. "I shouldn't have done that."

It was what he always said when they found themselves in this situation. The way he saw it, it was all his fault. She could hear the self-loathing in his voice and it cut her to the quick. She didn't want him to feel like he was taking advantage of her. She didn't want him to hate himself for wanting her. He already hated himself for so many more reasons.

"It's okay." She tried to force a smile into her voice and hoped it was working. She couldn't let him see how much this constant push and pull was killing her. "Let's just forget it ever happened and get back to work."

She wasn't even sure how they had found themselves making out in the middle of the study room to begin with. It had all started out innocently enough, but then again, it always did with them. Everything was always nice and innocent until someone stuck their tongue down someone's throat.

"Annie, we need to talk," he tried and she steeled herself before turning towards him and stopping his words with a hand on his chest. If they talked about this now, it would be over. Better to just let it go for now. She needed a plan before this went any further. They couldn't have this conversation with the image of her in his mind that he now possessed. It wouldn't go in her favor and she very much needed it to go in her favor.

"Yes, we do," she nodded firmly. "About biology."

He granted her his best crooked smile and her stomach dropped to her feet like it did every time he looked at her like that. "Well, something like that," he quipped.

"No, not something like that, exactly like that. We're here to study and that's what we're going to do, unless you're done. In which case, it's time I went home." She told him with far more confidence than she felt. She had to sell this, to turn him away from the talk about them. It wasn't time yet.

"We can't keep ignoring this thing between us," he pressed, not ready to let it go yet.

"Yes, we can. There isn't anything between us. So there is nothing to talk about," she retorted, quickly.

He looked almost wounded for a moment, like her words had stung him, but he recovered quickly. "Actually, I think that's a good idea. Maybe we should call it a night. I'll walk you home."

And there it was again, the protective, older brother vibe that she couldn't seem to remove from his mind.

"I appreciate the offer, but I can get home myself. It's just a few blocks," she replied before going to the table and gathering her things.

"But I'd feel better seeing you get there safe. It's late," he said, snatching up his own book and tucking it under his arm.

She spun on him, unable to keep the frustration and anger at bay any longer. "I can get home on my own. I'm not a child," she practically shouted the words at him before sprinting out the door and imagining the look on his face as he stared after her.

She barely made it out of the building before her phone was chirping at her from where it rested in the pocket of her yellow cardigan. "What?" she demanded after jabbing at the button and putting it to her ear.

"I don't think you're a child," were the first words out of his mouth and she nearly laughed at their absurdity.

"Can we just let this go, please? I'll see you tomorrow in class. Goodnight, Jeff."

She cut him off before he could respond and dropped the phone back into her pocket a moment before it began to ring again.

She repeated the process of retrieving it with a frustrated huff. "I said, let it go. It's fine. We're fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'm sure you will, and I'm glad to know we're okay. Are you alright?" Shirley asked in her usual, overly cheerful voice.

"I'm sorry, Shirley. I thought you were someone else," she explained.

"Someone tall, blond and unbelievably handsome, perhaps?" Annie could hear the smug smile in her voice.

"I wasn't talking to Jeff," she replied a little too quickly.

Shirley let out a quick, sharp bark of laughter. "I wasn't talking about any one specific someone. I was hoping maybe you'd met a nice boy. But obviously I've stumbled onto something. Is there something going on between you and Jeff that we don't know about?"

"It's none of you business," she spat and immediately regretted it when her friend gave a little squeak like she'd hurt her with her words.

"I'm calling Britta and coming over right now," Shirley announced.

"No, don't do that," she protested.

"What you need is ice cream and girl talk. I can hear it in your voice," Shirley argued.

"No, what I need is some peace and quiet. I'm fine. Everything is fine. I'm just really tired."

"Alright," her friend said after a moment. "if you're sure."

"I'm positive. I'll see you tomorrow. Kiss the boys for me." Then she hung up before any more could be said.

She stepped into her apartment and flipped on the light right inside the door with a thankful smile. The light off meant her roommates weren't home, either that or they were playing some sort of game in the dark, which was entirely possible as well.

"Abed?" she called out to make sure. "Troy?"

She got no answer from the still apartment and her shoulders relaxed instantly.

She needed a minute to herself, a minute of quiet reflection so she could figure out what to do about this problem that seemed to be taking over her life.

She'd just managed to put her books down on the kitchen bar when her phone was ringing again. Instead of answering this time, she flung it to the bar as well.

She listened to it ring as she went to her room and began to strip out of her clothes. It continued through her change, following along like a soundtrack as she slipped into an over-sized 'Hello Kitty' nightshirt and a pair of pink leggings.

Finally, unable to ignore the insistent device any longer she grabbed it and snatched to her ear. "What?" she snapped.

"I don't think you're a child," Jeff began again, as if he were determined to have his say no matter how many times he had to start it.

"Yes, you do," she answered. "And I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Well, I want to talk to you, so we can either keep doing this all night, or you can open your door and let me talk to you," he replied.

"You're outside my apartment?" she asked, nearly jumping out of her skin when she looked down at herself. There was no way he was going to see her wearing what she was wearing.

"I'm waiting for you to buzz me up," he said.

"Well, you're going to have to wait for a while, because I'm in the bathtub already and I'm not getting out," she lied.

"I can see your silhouette against the curtain," he replied. "Why can't I come up?"

She quickly moved away from the window, silently cursing her stupidity. "I think we're done for the night. We can talk tomorrow after class."

"Annie, let me up, now," His voice dropped down to that low level that said he no longer wished to be argued with and suddenly the tone reminded her of her father and she recoiled.

"Goodnight, Jeff. I'll see you tomorrow." She told him through gritted teeth.

She set the phone back down on the bar, taking the time, this time, to turn it off. She was done with Jeff Winger for the night. She needed to think, to plan, and she couldn't do that with him constantly distracting her.

She went to her room and laid across her bed, stretching her body to relieve it of the pent up tension she'd been carrying around since their encounter in the study room. Actually it had been there since the first time she'd laid eyes on him that morning. The steel gray, button-down shirt he'd been wearing made his eyes pop like sapphires when he stepped out of his car, ducked his head at her and smiled with a low, throaty, 'Milady' in way of greeting.

She'd nearly choked on her expected reply of, 'Milord'.

He had fallen into step with her easily and her steps had almost faltered when he glanced at her and said, "Annie, you just get more beautiful everyday. Have I told you that lately?"

It had been a harmless, flirty little comment. One he was just as likely to give Britta or Shirley, yet somehow it hadn't been. Maybe she was imagining it, but when he said those things to her, there seemed to be something heavier in the innocuous, simple statement. Maybe he didn't even realize it himself. Surely if he did, he wouldn't keep torturing her like he was. It was unfair how much he affected her. She didn't want him to see the blush that rose in her cheek when he offered her a compliment, or notice the way her pulse jumped when he inadvertently brushed her hand with his.

Somehow, she needed to figure out a way to bring her body to heel when he was around. There was nothing as childish as appearing to lose her composure every time he was close.

The neat freak in her couldn't just leave her things where they were and she went to the kitchen to retrieve her backpack, books and phone, bringing them to her room where she put everything where it belonged. That was what her room offered her, a place free from the chaos of her life outside these walls. Here everything was simple, easy. Everything had a place, a neat, organized, uncomplicated place that made sense.

All the while, as she went about the mindless task of getting herself ready for bed, she was thinking. She didn't like the idea of planning and scheming to get what she wanted, but the time for waiting was over. She couldn't afford to waste any more time where he was concerned. He wouldn't stay single forever. Being alone wasn't in his makeup. And while he was never serious about the women he constantly fell into bed with, it was just a matter of time before one fell in that held his attention for more than a minute. The law of averages said she only had a small window of opportunity.

It wasn't a matter of getting him into bed. She could do that. It wouldn't take more than a little encouragement on her part to push their relationship into that place. But that place wasn't the one she wanted.  
>She didn't want to be another notch on his formidable bedpost. She wanted to be the one that caught his attention for more than a minute. She wanted him, all of him. And not for the night, not even for a few nights. Because there was one thing that she had figure out in all this. One thing that she knew with absolute certainty. And that was that she was undeniably, unequivocally, unconditionally in love with Jeff Winger.<p>

Now she had to figure out how she was going to make him see her as someone he could fall in love with as well.

It was clear to her that he saw her as attractive. He was constantly telling her she was beautiful and the kissing her nearly every time they were alone together was a big indication as well. But she needed more than attraction. She needed to make him take her seriously.

She nearly landed on the floor when she jumped at the sudden knock on her door frame. She hadn't heard her roommates return she'd been so lost in thought.

"Come in," she called towards the door and a moment later Abed stuck his head into the room.

"We're going to watch a movie. Do you want to join us?" he asked with a little more animation than was customary for him. She wondered why until she realized it was Thursday night. That meant it was romantic comedy night on the movie schedule. It was one of his favorite nights.

"What movie?" she asked, bringing herself to a sitting position in the middle of the bed.

"Either _Can't buy me love_ or _Clueless_. We haven't really decided yet. Maybe you could pick for us."

She considered that for a moment. She wasn't even sure she wanted to join them, but romantic comedy night had been added to the weekly movie schedule in her honor. It seemed rude to turn them down. And both movies were favorites of hers. Maybe a movie was exactly what she needed.

Then she heard it. A new voice coming from the kitchen area. A voice that turned her insides to mush and made her heartbeat take off like a rocket.

"Where do you keep the popcorn?"

Jeff was in her kitchen.

"Is that-?" she was about to ask when his face appeared over Abed's shoulder.

"I hope you don't mind. Abed and Troy let me in. I can't believe you didn't tell me it was romantic comedy night," he smiled at her smugly.

"I thought I told you goodnight already." She glared at him before glancing down at herself and wishing desperately a hole would open up in the center of her bed and swallow her. No makeup, hair in a mess and 'Hello Kitty', yep he wouldn't ever see her as a child again after this encounter.

"Well, I wasn't really ready to call it a night," he shrugged.

"I'm going to go make the popcorn. We're starting the movie in five minutes. Don't miss the beginning." Abed announced before ducking past Jeff and disappearing.

Annie sat up a little straighter and snatched the lilac colored, plush throw from the foot of the bed. She quickly wrapped it around herself before bringing her eyes back to him.

It wasn't until then that she noticed he'd stepped into the room and shut the door behind him.

"What?" she asked, pulling the blanket tighter.

"Are you coming to watch the movie?" he replied, crossing his arms over his chest negligently and leaning a hip against the door jamb.

"Actually, I have some homework I need to get done. But feel free to enjoy the movie with Troy and Abed." She smiled at him sweetly.

He unfolded himself from the jamb and took a swaggering step towards her. It only took one for him to be close enough to sit down on the foot of her bed. Then he angled his body towards her. "I didn't come over here to watch a movie with Troy and Abed." He was using that low, throaty voice again, the one that always drove her crazy.

"Then why did you come here? I already told I don't want to talk to you tonight. Why can't you just accept that?"

There was that famous crooked smile again. "Have you ever known me to just accept something? Especially when I want the exact opposite. Why are you so determined not to talk about this?"

"Because I don't want to," she answered and folded her own arms over her chest defiantly.

"Annie, it's hard to not see you as a child when you're acting like one."

She reached for the first thing she could find. It was only luck that it turned out to be a soft, stuffed teddy bear. Otherwise it might have done some damage when she let it fly and it connected with the side of his face.

"Go away!" she almost shouted at him.

He snatched the bear from the floor where it had landed beside his boot. "Alright. We don't have to talk, but come watch the movie. I know you really like both of them."

"How do you know what movies I really like?" she asked, still in a huff.

His eyes turned suddenly very serious and he leveled her with a gaze that caused her heart to stop. "Because I pay attention to you. I know it might not seem like it all the time, but I do."

"Because I'm the adorable, plucky little sister you've always wanted," she fumed, unable to stop the words before they left her mouth. So much for not having this conversation right now.

Suddenly he was way closer than he had been only a moment before, well within her personal space without her even noticing him move. "No, because you are an interesting, adorable, plucky young woman that I care about."

They were both silent for a long time, sitting there on her bed, close enough to touch, both lost in their own thoughts. She couldn't read his from the look on his face. Hers were completely preoccupied with praying. In a moment, whether it was a good idea or not, whether it was time for it or not, whether it would ruin everything or not, she was going to kiss him. This was dangerous. Here, in her room, on her bed, it was worse than dangerous. It was disastrous. She could already see the scenario playing out in her mind. In her mind, this ended with him slinking from her room in shame and guilt and never talking to her again.

He wasn't ready for this. She wasn't ready for this. It wasn't time yet. This had to mean more to him than sex for it to have any chance of lasting.

So she prayed. She prayed for something, anything to stop this now before it ever got started because she was only human and despite what she knew was best, there was only so much she could resist.

Her miracle came a moment later with another knock on her door that caused him to jump in surprise and end up back at the foot of her bed where he'd started.

The look on his face, the guilt and doubt written all over him said she was absolutely right about everything.

"Come in," she called to her savior while quickly working her tongue in her mouth to draw in some kind of moisture.

"We picked for you. We're watching _Clueless_. Come on. It's starting." Abed informed them, paying seemingly no attention at all to the scene in front of him.

"We're on our way," Jeff answered, getting to his feet and holding his hand out for her to take. "Milady?"

She glared at him again, but it was short lived. She couldn't stay mad at him for very long, no matter what he'd done and this time, his only offense, it seemed was wanting to spend some time with her. How could she be mad at him for that?

She extended her hand, resting it gently in his and he helped pull her to her feet. "Milord," she answered with a warm smile before he lead her from the room.

Everything and everyone seemed to be conspiring against her.

First it was her roommates, roommates that she thought had her back, roommates she thought she could depend on to help her out. Both had betrayed her utterly. Abed had taken up residence in his favorite recliner. She couldn't really fault him for that. It was where he always sat, in the recliner with his feet propped on the coffee table. Troy, on the other hand, knew what romantic comedy meant for her and usually he obliged her. Usually, he joined on her on the loveseat instead of taking the other recliner and let her cuddle into his side.

Now she stepped into the room and found both Troy and Abed occupying the recliners which left the loveseat for her and Jeff. If she didn't know better she'd have thought they planned it. But giving either man that much credit was probably more than they deserved. They didn't think in those terms. It wouldn't have occurred to either of them that she might not want to sit in the dark on the tiny loveseat with Jeff.

The lights were already lowered and Abed had his hand resting on the lamp waiting for them to take their places and get settled so he could turn it off as well. It was how they always watched movies. She didn't know why she thought having Jeff join them might change that and if she asked them to leave the light on it would only draw attention to the fact that she wanted it on instead of off.

So she went to her usual spot on the loveseat, passing between her roommates on her way and giving them both a glare they didn't really deserve or understand for that matter.

Once there, the next thing she noticed was how cool the room was. Granted it was December and no one could control the weather. But she couldn't help but feel like the universe was working against her as she grudgingly dragged the blanket from the back of the loveseat and spread it out, leaving enough room for Jeff to slip under it as well. He did exactly that and she couldn't help but notice how close he was.

But then again, of course he was close the blanket was just a throw and in order to have enough to cover them both, he had to be close to her. Still, she tossed yet another glare at the back of Abed and Troy's heads.

That's when another thing on her list of bad occurred to her. Neither of them could see them. They were effectively cut off from both Troy and Abed as they looked forward towards the TV. She and Jeff were well behind them, out of their sight completely. Either man would have to turn around nearly completely to see them from their position. They might as well be sitting in the back row of a movie theater except that, along with the dark, they also had a nice blanket to hide behind as well.

When the movement behind him stopped, indicating that all were settled in, Abed clicked off the lamp and the entire room fell into complete darkness while the movie started.

Annie spent the first thirty minutes of it sitting with her back ramrod straight, her feet planted on the floor and her hands folded in her lap. Jeff had taken a much more relaxed pose, resting with his arm draped across the back of the loveseat and his long body more or less sprawled over his tiny half. His thigh rested against hers under the blanket. The warmth of his body drew her like a moth to a flame, beckoning her to come closer.

Forty-five minutes in found her with her back slumping and her shoulders sagging under the weight of keeping up the tension of her pose.

She almost jumped out of her skin when he turned to her and whispered quietly into her ear, "Relax, it's just a little movie in the dark with a friend."

She might have believed him if it wasn't for the way his lips lingered right there at her ear long after he spoke the words. She felt the shiver they produced run through the entire length of her body and tried to resist the urge to sag against him. It was harder than she expected it to be. Her body wanted him and right then it was pretty much ignoring what her mind was telling it.

He pushed the envelope further still by letting his arm fall from the back of the loveseat to her shoulder. Once there, he used it to draw her into his side until she was helpless to do anything except let her head rest against his chest.

"See that's much better," he whispered again after drawing her hair to the side to get to her ear.

This whole thing was going from bad to worse. Maybe she could just concentrate on the movie and ignore him, pretend he wasn't there, behind her with his chest rising and falling under her head as he took in deep even breaths that lulled her with their rhythmic movements.

He didn't move for the rest of the movie except to shift them just enough so that she was practically laying over him while he cradled her against his body gently.

Eventually she managed to pretend it wasn't him with his arms wrapped around her in a cocoon of safety and warmth. Most Thursday nights she laid just like this except with Troy behind her while she imagined it was Jeff instead. She realized now that her imagination was severely lacking. She had never felt this good, this comfortable in Troy's arms. Still, despite all that, tonight she did just the opposite of her usual routine. She did her best to imagine it was Troy holding her instead of Jeff.

It wasn't until she convinced herself that she really began to enjoy the movie. And that was a good thing. That was when her plan began to take shape.

It was the movie itself that lead her to the right path, helped her to see what she was missing. What she needed was a Christian. It was Cher's interest in Christian that finally brought Josh's real feelings to the surface.

But where would she find a guy to show an interest in. And wouldn't that be wrong, leading some random guy on just to make Jeff jealous enough to see how he really feels about her. It would take more than just a little harmless flirty to make this happen. She'd seen that when she showed a passing interest in Dr. Rich. No, she would have to take this way further than that.

Suddenly light flooded the room and she realized as she watched the credits roll to David Bowie's _Modern Love_ that the movie was over.

Before she could protest the decision, Troy had gotten up and popped the other movie into the DVD player. They were back in the dark and fully engrossed again almost before she realized what had happened. _Can't buy me love_ was the next on the list and again, it was one of her favorites and again, it served to make her plan more clear.

What if she found a guy and paid him to date her? Well, she didn't have money, so she would have to come up with some alternate form of payment, but she could figure something out. She was an excellent student. Maybe she could bribe someone with writing papers for them in exchange for playing along with her plan?

But who? She couldn't afford the risk of using someone in their group. Too much could go wrong. Jeff knew these people. And her only viable options would be either Abed or Troy, neither of which had the acting skills to pull something like this off. No, she needed a stranger.

Tomorrow she would begin her research. Tomorrow she would find the right guy for the role and put her plan into motion.

For the moment, however, she tried to ignore the stinging in her eyes that told her she'd been up far too long past bedtime. A yawn escaped her lips. She thought she felt the arms around her tighten, arms she was still steadfastly pretending belonged to Troy. The illusion was shattered through when he moved just slightly, shifting into a more comfortable position beneath her and causing his scent to assault her senses. Troy never smelled that good, not that he stank, but he never smelled THAT good. There was something so earthy and manly about the aroma. Something that just seemed to call his name like a whisper on the air every time she breathed.

She couldn't keep herself from snuggling in closer to him, letting him envelope her in the warmth that radiated from him.

She was blinking slowly now, each time taking more effort to reopen her eyes until she gave up the fight and let them close.

A tiny nap wouldn't be so bad.


	2. Chapter 2

Jeff Winger had no idea what he was doing or why he was doing it. He shouldn't be here. He knew that. His brain had been telling him that since he followed her out of the study room. It reminded him constantly as he stood outside her apartment waiting for someone to come home and let him inside. He'd concocted that plan when she'd told him to go away before hanging up on him. Maybe that was why he was there. Maybe it was simply because he didn't like being told what to do by anyone, not even her.

But he knew deep down that there was much, much more to this that an act of defiance. This wasn't about rebelling. This was about his ever increasing need to be near her. He didn't understand why and he wasn't sure he wanted to think about it too much. It was dangerous territory.

He was slowly coming to the realization that somehow Annie had worked her way in. She was becoming something he never let himself have. She was becoming something he didn't want to walk away from. And there was only one thing to do in that situation.

Walk away.

He didn't allow himself feelings like that, couldn't afford the price that came with them.

Nothing lasts forever. It was his creed, a motto, of sorts. Nothing lasts forever. It had been proven to him time and time again.

So as he looked down into his lap which was taken up by her and realized he was slowly, languidly pulling his fingers through her silky brown hair, he stopped immediately and readjusted himself in his seat, trying to draw her further away from him but really only succeeding in pulling her even closer.

How had that happened? He'd meant to move her away.

The sound of her breathing filled his ears at a particularly quiet part of the movie and he realized that she had fallen asleep. He briefly considered just sliding out from under her and leaving her right there on the couch. She could get herself to bed. She wasn't a child that needed him to carry her off to bed and tuck her in. But the image of him doing just that filled his mind and he couldn't keep his body from following through with the thought.

He gathered her closer to him and wrapped the blanket tighter around her before getting a little clumsily to his feet. He'd never done this before. He'd never had the urge or the opportunity to carry someone to bed. He was surprised at how heavy she was though he'd never say that out loud and he knew it was only because at the moment she was just dead weight, no help at all. Every time he'd ever carried anyone there was help, legs wrapped around his waist, arms encircling his shoulders, hand clutching his biceps.

Those images flooded his brain now and he felt incredibly dirty, thinking about things like that with the pure, innocent, perfect Annie laying in his arms. He was a lecherous old man. He should be stoned. Did they still stone people?

He stumbled as he maneuvered her through the maze of the living room and past the recliners where her roommates still sat engrossed in the movie. Troy, at seeing his burden, jumped to his feet and ran to yank her bedroom door open for him. He gave him a smile of thanks, then threw a look of exasperation over his shoulder when he heard the door firmly close behind him.

He didn't know why that irritated him so much. Then it occurred to him and the irony of it almost made him laugh out loud. It reminded him of Woody Allen. I wouldn't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member. He was irritated because Troy had just left her alone with him. How could Troy claim to be her friend, then leave her alone with someone like him in her current vulnerable state? He would have to have a talk with those boys. They weren't doing a very good job of watching out for her. And that was their role now. He'd managed to relax a little where she was concerned because he knew that Abed and Troy were with her, watching over her. If he couldn't rely on them to do a better job than this, he would need to make other arrangements for her.

Maybe she could move in with Britta. Britta would never, ever leave a sleeping, vulnerable Annie in his grasp without at least keeping the door open so she could keep an eye on him.

And someone needed to keep an eye on him. Particularly with the thoughts that were running through his mind as he laid her down on her bed. Her hair spanned out around her head on her pillow like a halo. Her small, almost fragile body was surrounded in a sea of pink and ruffles and teddy bears.

He laughed. No, of course she wasn't a child. What could have possibly given him that impression?

A glance down at the rest of her body reminded him that she very much was not the child she appeared to be. Her more than amble breasts strained against the pink material of her t-shirt causing the cat displayed on the shirt to look as if it were jumping up and down with each breath she took. And that made him feel dirty as well. He shouldn't notice things like that about her. Annie's breasts should not be something he was aware of.

The shirt had, unfortunately, gotten bunched up in the move and he tried to avert his gaze from the exposed flesh of her flat, unmarred stomach, but he couldn't. In fact, his hands were now fisted at his sides as he fought the urge to reach out and just touch her. He wanted, no, needed to feel it. He needed to see if she was as soft as she appeared to be. Again, a dirty, disgusting, old man.

Her long, shapely, pink covered legs, bent at the knees and curved towards him, seemed to go on forever and again, he wanted to run his hand over the curve of her hip. It just sat there, mocking him, tempting him, laughing at him. That hip knew what he did. It knew he wasn't worthy of touching her.

It would be like pissing on a unicorn. There would be no coming back from that, no way to redeem himself if he allowed her to be sullied by the likes of him.

No, he needed to get away from her, as far away from her as possible.

He took a step back and nearly stumbled again when he came into contact with her desk behind him. It was a small room. There was no way to get any more distance except to leave and he wasn't ready to do that yet. So he pulled the office chair out and folded himself into it.

He just wanted to watch her for a few more minutes. He needed to indulge himself in the sight of her for just a little while longer. He might never get another opportunity to just look at her like he was now. There was no one here to see, no judging eyes casting silent disparages on his character, no critical glances telling him he had no business looking upon her like he was. Hell, he could practically see Britta and Shirley's scowls.

Since when did he give a shit about what other people thought of him? Since when did it matter?

Since these people became important to you, he answered his own question. Since you decided you wanted to be a better person.

And how much of that desire was based on the woman before him? Was there a part of him that hoped one day he might be worthy of touching her?

There was. He knew it. He didn't want to admit it, but it was true. And it was a part that grew bigger every time she leveled them with those huge, doe-like eyes and pursed her perfectly bowed, full, pink lips at him. It surged in leaps and bounds when those eyes weren't pleading but instead flashed fire at him. Annie angry was a sight he never wanted to miss. God, she was something awe-inspiring when she was lit up with rage or aflame with righteous indignation!

He had seen a lot of fantastic things in his time, but there was nothing in the world that could compare to the breath-taking beauty of Annie Edison angry. It was something to behold.

The dirty, disgusting, old man in him did it on purpose sometimes, fired her up just so he could watch her explode. It was something of a hobby for him, a guilty indulgence like ice cream or pecan pie.

She shifted in her sleep, rolling to her side and bringing her knees up nearly to her chest.

He realized that she was probably cold. It was chilly in the room and he was wearing way more clothes than she was. He got to his feet and pulled back the blankets on one side of the bed. Then he took a deep breath, steeling himself before taking her in his arms again and sliding her under the fluffy, pink comforter. After tucking the blankets securely around her, he almost stepped back. But something stopped him and he leaned in and placed a light kiss to her forehead. He was pulling away again when one of her hands came up and grasped his bicep.

He glanced at it and was almost taken aback by the sight of her tiny hand, complete with perfectly manicured, cotton candy pink nails, encircling his upper arm.

He looked back at her face and found those huge, blue orbs blinking at him groggily.

"Is the movie over?" she asked. Her words sluggish and slurred.

"Yeah, it's over. Just go back to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow," he whispered before leaning in and kissing her cheek this time.

"Okay," she purred as she snuggled down deeper into the blankets and shifted around until she was comfortable.

A moment later, her hand fell away from his arm and he immediately stepped away from her. The temptation to join her in that see of pink ruffles, to wrap his arms around her and pull her into his chest protectively was almost overwhelming.

He needed to get out of there.

He sprinted from the room and almost ran into the wall in the dark hallway. Abed and Troy had gone to bed apparently and they weren't the least bit concerned with the fact that Jeff was still there, behind Annie's closed bedroom door doing God knows what to her.

Yeah, he was definitely going to have to have a talk with those two.

He snatched his jacket from the back of one of the bar stools in the kitchen, shrugged into it and left as quietly as he could.

The walk to his Lexus was a long one. He'd left it parked at the school when he followed her home. So now he was faced with the long journey back to it with nothing to do but think. He didn't like having nothing to do but think. He thought about yanking his phone from his pocket and finding one of the games he typically hid behind when he didn't want to be part of the group, but he quickly pushed the thought aside.

Thinking was exactly what he needed to do right then. He needed to decide what to do about his ever growing feelings for Annie. Since walking away wasn't an option he wanted to employ yet, (He would do it if it came down to having no other way out of this, but he wasn't ready to take that road yet.) he needed to come up with a plan. He needed a plan that would save them all, himself, Annie, the study group in general. There was no doubt in his mind that if he acted on his feelings for her, the group would fall apart. There would be no way to get Britta and Shirley on their side. They were the smart ones. They were the ones that would see the relationship for what it would be, a train wreck that would leave Annie broken and beaten.

No, he couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't be the one to ruin her. He had done a lot of things in his life that he wasn't proud of. Okay, he wasn't proud of anything he'd ever done in his life. But all those things were things he managed to live with. He still got up every morning. He still went through everyday despite all of them. But ruining Annie would not be something he could live with. Beyond what it would do to her, it would kill him. Being responsible for that was more than his fragile conscious could bare.

So he needed a plan. What he needed was something that would make her untouchable. What he needed was a way to take touching her, kissing her off the table for him, make her unattainable, untouchable.

There was only one thing he had never done, one line he had never crossed. Something too scared to break. He needed to make Annie fall in love. He needed to find her a man, someone good enough for her. Someone who would treat her the way she deserved to be treated.

Tomorrow he would do something he'd made a point of avoiding all his life. Tomorrow he would work towards finding Annie a man.


	3. Chapter 3

She spent most of the day ignoring her classes and observing the people around her. She would have to make up the work she'd missed, but it was worth it. By lunch she'd narrowed down her list of possibilities to four. By the end of her last class, she had a winner. Now all she needed to do was convince him.

His name was Adam. Adam Richter was her age, handsome, but not overly so, and just bright enough to be a reasonable option for her while not so smart that he was able to pass his class on his own. He was perfect.

Her last class was over and fortunately it was a class she shared with Adam so she followed him from the room, having to nearly run to catch up to him.

"Adam!" she called from a few paces behind him to get his attention. He turned towards her at hearing his name and stopped in the middle of the hall.

Annie pointedly ignore Jeff as he stepped around her and headed off down the hall alone. She watched him until he disappeared before stepping up to Adam and giving him a smile.

"Do I know you?" he asked as he looked her up and down.

"Not yet, but you're about to," she beamed at him charmingly.

"Is that right?" he said, throwing her a lazy, half ass smile that reminded her so much of Jeff she almost chickened out before she even got started.

Reaching out with a shaky hand and pushing away the wave of apprehension, she wrapped her fingers around his bicep and smiled again. "I hope so. My name is Annie Edison. Can we go somewhere and talk?"

Adam glanced down at her hand on his arm while his smile grew in intensity. "I think I have a few minutes to spare. Coffee?"

"That sounds perfect. Somewhere off-campus?"

He nodded and lead her away.

"You're taking creative writing this semester?" Annie asked, as they settled into a back booth at a coffee shop a couple of blocks from the campus.

He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously before giving a slight nod. "I am. Why?"

"How's it going for you? Are you enjoying the class?" She was fishing now. Hopefully he would bite.

He sat back and took up his cup before taking a long sip from it. Then he sat it back on the table and looked over at her. "Actually, I was hoping it would be an easy English credit but it's turning out to be a hassle."

"A hassle? So you aren't doing well?" she replied.

"Writing really isn't my thing. Why? Are you doing some kind of survey?" he smirked.

"Not exactly. See, writing is my thing," she answered. "Actually anything academic is my thing."

"Well, congratulations. I'm glad school is fun for you. What does this have to do with me?"

"I have a proposition for you," she said, her voice a little shaky.

His eyebrows rose to his hairline and he sat up straight in his seat. "You want to proposition me?"

She shrank back immediately. "Not like you think."

"Okay, then what exactly are you proposing then?"

"I've done some research. I know that you are about to fail that class and I also know that you need the credit in order to graduate this year," she explained.

He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "You seem to know an awful lot about me for someone I just met a few minutes ago. Should I be worried? Are you some kind of freaky stalker?"

"I'm not a stalker. I'm offering to help you. I took that class last semester. I can get you through it with more than just a passing grade. I can help you ace that class."

"That's a tempting offer. What do you want in return?" he asked, clearly intrigued.

"I need a boyfriend," she blurted out quickly.

"I thought you said you weren't propositioning me like that," he smirked.

"I'm not. I need a fake boyfriend."

"You want me to be your fake boyfriend in exchange for helping me pass my creative writing class?"

"Exactly," she nodded primly.

"Why do you need a fake boyfriend? Can't you get a real one?"

She sat back and yanked the sides of her red cardigan to the center of her chest. "Of course I can. I just need one that won't get emotionally involved."

He chuckled and sat back again taking his coffee with him as he lounged across his side of the booth. "I see what's going on now. Who's the guy?"

"That's not your concern," she replied quickly.

"If I'm supposed to be making him jealous then it is my concern," he retorted.

"He isn't important right now. What is important is how much you want to pass that class."

"Well, what exactly are we talking about here? A few dates on Friday night, a quick grope in the quad between classes?"

She shuddered as she watched him leer at her suggestively. "I need more than just a quick grope. I need you to be convincing."

"Oh, I can be convincing, Sweetheart. Just how convincing do you want me to be?" he asked with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows. "And for how long?"

"Extremely convincing and for as long as it takes," she answered.

He sat back as if considering his options and her heart sank. Maybe he wasn't as unintelligent as she hoped he might be. Apparently he realized his position and now he was about to take advantage of it.

"I'll be your pretend boyfriend for one month. I'll do everything but buy you a ring, but you pay for everything, and I don't want a tutor for English. You write my papers for me. All of them for as long as I'm pretending to like you."

It wasn't the best deal she could have hoped for but it was better than it might have been. She gave him a smile and nodded in agreement.

He smiled back at her before grabbing his backpack from the seat beside him and rummaging through it for a minute. He pulled out a crumpled paper and slid it across the table to her. "Alright, I have an assignment due Monday. Here are the notes and I'll meet you before class on Monday morning. I get hungry before a performance," he quipped before getting to his feet, giving her another smile then quickly exiting the cafe.

She stared after him with a feeling of dread. What had she gotten herself into?

"Abed, Troy!" both of the young men stopped when they heard their names and waited for Jeff to catch up to them.

"Are you joining us for another movie night? It's Friday that means Sci-Fi night." Abed asked.

"No, not tonight. I have other plans, but I need to talk to you," he announced.

"Is this about last night? Because if it is, it's none of our business," Troy said

"Actually it wasn't going to be about last night, but since you brought it up, I do have a few comments," he answered, quickly changing the subject. "I thought the two of you were supposed to be watching out for Annie. What was that last night?"

Abed and Troy looked at each other. "Movie night," they answered simply and in unison.

"I don't mean the movies. I mean after that. I'm depending on the two of you to keep Annie safe. That's your job now that she's staying with you," he said, trying to keep the lecturing tone out of his voice.

"We do watch out for her. We keep her safe." Troy told him.

"Then explain to me why you thought it was okay for me to be in her room alone with her with the door closed like that," he said while crossing his arms over his chest.

Abed and Troy looked at each other again, this time with confusion all over their faces.

"She's a grown woman," Troy answered like he was an idiot for even asking the question.

Abed nodded in agreement and then shrugged. "Besides she was with you."

Jeff sighed in exasperation, not wanting to admit that both points were valid ones. "Look, just keep a better eye on her. That wasn't even why I wanted to talk to you."

"This isn't about Annie?" Troy asked.

"Well, kind of, but it has nothing to do with last night. I need you to find out everything you can about a guy named Adam Richter," he explained.

"Adam Richter? Isn't he in our biology class?" Troy asked. "He's on the football team." Then he shrugged offhandedly. "Seems like a descent guy. Is he joining our study group?"

Jeff looked up at the sky for a moment like he was offering up a prayer. "God I hope not. I need everything you can find. I want to know everything about this guy from the name of his first babysitter to the address of the hospital he was born in. Can you do that?"

"We can do that," Abed nodded. "The question is will we do that. What's this about?"

Jeff looked at him in stunned surprised for a moment. Abed wasn't normally one for questioning his order. He usually just went along with whatever Jeff wanted.

"Annie was talking to him in the hall after Biology," he admitted, finally.

"You saw Annie talking to this guy and now you want a full background check on him?" Troy said accusingly. "Doesn't that seem a little over the top to you?"

"Look, we all know Annie has a little crush on me. I thought maybe if this guy checks out okay, we could give her a push in his direction, maybe help her get over me." God, he sounded like a pompous jackass even to himself.

"No," Abed answered without the least bit of hesitation.

"No?" Jeff asked.

"No," Troy agreed with his best friend.

"Why not?" he wanted to know.

"We promised Annie we would never interfere in her love life again," Abed explained simply.

"This isn't interfering in her love life. It's helping her move on," he pressed.

"Move on from what?" a new voice asked, coming up behind him and joining the conversation.  
>"Britta, this doesn't concern you," he said without looking at her.<p>

"It sounds like you're scheming about something, so that concerns me a lot and since I can't imagine what Shirley might need help moving on from I can only assume this is about Annie."

"Jeff wants us to run a background check on this guy he saw Annie talking to in the hall after class today." Abed told her before Jeff could intervene.

"What!" Britta demanded. "What the hell is this about?"

Jeff looked down and started to shift his weight from one foot to the other. "I was hoping that maybe this guy could help Annie get over her little crush on me."

Britta gave a sharp bark of laughter. "You really do love yourself a lot, don't you? I'm thinking the best way for Annie to get over her little crush is for you to stop sticking your tongue in her mouth."

He looked up quickly and began to stutter uncharacteristically. "I am. I mean, I have. I haven't...Look, just forget it. I'll find out what I need to know on my own."

Then he turned on his heel and stormed off before anyone could say anything else.

He didn't need their help, granted this might take a little more effort on his part without them, but he could handle that. It wasn't like he'd never spied on anyone before.

Well, actually it was a lot like that and really he didn't have the first clue about where to start. Figuring he was way out of his league on this, he decided his best option was to hire a professional. Tomorrow, he would find a private detective to do his dirty work for him.

"Jeffery Winger!" he heard a voice exclaim behind and he turned slowly towards it when he realized he had no hope of escaping.

"Dean Pelton," he smiled through gritted teeth. "Do you spend all your free time away from school following me?"

"It's Saturday and we aren't anywhere near school, so like I've told you before, call me Craig." The Dean told him as he stepped up.

"No and seriously, answer me. Are you following me? Should I be thinking about a restraining order?"

"Come on, Jeffery. This is just a coincidence that I found you stepping out of the office of the only private detective in town's office after I overheard you and your friends discussing Miss Edison's new little friend yesterday after class." The Dean's smirk was loaded and shameless.

"This has nothing to do with that and quit eavesdropping on people. One of these days you're going to hear something you don't want to hear," Jeff quickly tried to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand.

Dean Pelton shook his head mournfully. "Oh, I hear things I don't want to all the time."

"Then quit listening. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to enjoy some non-school related fun. I hear people do that sometimes. They call it a weekend."

He turned and tried to walk away but the dean was beside him before he made it very far. "I wonder what Annie would think if she accidentally found out that you were having a background check done on some guy just because you saw them talking in the hall after class. I'm betting she wouldn't appreciate the gesture."

Jeff stopped and quickly turned towards the little troll of a man that he honestly hated with just about every fiber of his being. "This has nothing to do with Annie or even school for that matter, so you can give it up now."

"Really?" The dean asked with a quirk of his eyebrows. He pulled his phone from his pocket and pushed a few buttons before showing it to Jeff.

It was a picture of him coming out of the office he'd just left.  
>"Now, I suppose you might be able to convince her that you weren't there because of her, but when Abed and Troy tell her what you wanted from them yesterday, I'm guessing she's going to believe me. Do you know why that is, Jeff?"<p>

Jeff stepped back and eyed him for a moment with loathing and disgust all over his face. "No, tell me why."

The Dean put his phone away. "It's because people are inclined to believe the worst about you and do you know why that is?"

Jeff crossed his arms over his chest and stared the little troll down menacingly. "Again, no. Tell me why?"

"Because nine times out of ten, it's the truth. You really aren't a very nice person when it comes right down to it," he explained patiently.

"What do you want?" Jeff asked, seeing that he had no other option.

"Oh, this is too good of an opportunity to be flippant about." He reached up and tried to pluck a string or something away from the red button-down shirt that Jeff was wearing. Jeff dodged him and batted his hand away. "How about I'll just keep this little photo and when I need something I'll let you know?"

"I'd be careful if I were you. That little photo will only get you so much," Jeff warned him.

The Dean gave a sharp, loud trill of laughter. "That little photo will get me whatever I want. You can pretend not to care about that group of misfits you hang around with all you want. But I know better. They're important to you. And our sweet little Pollyanna means more to you than the rest of them."

Jeff looked away unable to deny what the little douche bag was saying. He could try, but there really wasn't a point. The Dean had him. He knew it and Jeff knew it, too. If Annie found out about this background check, she'd never forgive him.

"Alright fine," he muttered. "Are we done here?"

"For now," The Dean practically purred at him. "I'll be seeing you around."

Jeff turned on his heel and stalked away with homicidal thoughts running through his head.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N : I'm sorry I try to never do this, but I felt I needed to this time. I just wanted to say that I realize this chapter is a bit cliche, but in my defence I've never had a chance to write the traditional 'holiday' scene and I indulged myself. Call it the christmas spirit I guess. So enjoy, Merry Christmas and dont forget to leave me my present at the end. I'm easy, all I want for Christmas is a review. **

She knew she shouldn't feel the way she felt, but deep down, Annie hated Christmas. It brought out a side of her that she wasn't proud of, her jealous side. It had been that way since she was little. All the other kids with their presents and trees and reindeer games. She had always felt like Rudolph, never allowed to join in.

Her roommates, one Muslim and the other a Jehovah Witness, hadn't helped with her feelings of being left out. It was like the entire world had been invited to a party and she was left off the guest list. And it was worse now that she was no longer speaking to her parents. At least before she had the Jewish traditions to make her feel a little better, but she was the only Jewish person she knew other than her family so when it came to this time of year, she felt more left out than normal and that was saying a lot.

She passed a shop window full to the brim with colorfully wrapped presents, wooden toys, garland and lights and a sigh escaped her lips. She wanted all that, wreaths and lights, presents and trees. She wanted to hang her stockings on the chimney with care and stay up late on Christmas Eve to listen for the sounds of reindeer prancing on her roof.

Okay, in truth, the idea of Santa Claus had always creeped her out. Some guy that knew everything about you, was always watching and then breaks into your house in the dead of night. That sounded suspiciously like a stalker to her. And the fact that he was there for the children in the house only added another level to the disturbing quality of the story. What were people thinking when they came up with this concept?

"Annie?" A voice called and she turned to find Shirley hustling up to her. "Hi, Sweetie, are you doing a little Christmas shopping?"

She sighed again. "I'm Jewish, Shirley. We don't do Christmas, remember?"

"Okay how about a little Hanukkah shopping then? Besides, being Jewish doesn't mean you can't shop for all your non-Jewish friends." Shirley said with her voice dripping in honey like it usually was.

Annie spied the bundle of sacks in the older woman's hand and tried to imagine all the little bobbles for her friends and loved ones that laid inside them. That was what she wanted. It wasn't about getting presents for her. She wanted to be the one spreading joy and happiness around.

"I was actually just thinking about talking to Abed and Troy about having a real, traditional Christmas this year," she said spontaneously. She hadn't been thinking about that at all, actually, but now that the words were out of her mouth, she liked the idea more and more.

"Oh!" Shirley squealed. "That's so nice. I could help, if you want. It could be like my Christmas present to the three of you."

"Wait," Annie held up her hand to stop her before she went overboard with plans and ideas. "I haven't really decided that it's what I want to do."

Shirley grabbed her arm and began dragging her towards the store with the window she'd been looking in before. "But of course it is. This is going to be so much fun."

And that was how the Jewish Annie Edison found herself hanging a string of Christmas lights around the bathroom door frame in the tiny apartment she shared with Abed and Troy.

Her roommates had been absent all afternoon and she glanced towards the humming, overly cheerful Shirley and wondered how she'd managed to make that happen. It had to be something she'd done. Abed and Troy were almost always home all weekend, sitting in front of the television playing some kind of game or another.

She was just about to ask her when there was a knock at the door and she abandoned the line of thought to answer it.

She opened the door and immediately stepped back when all she saw was a tree.

"Yay!" Shirley called from the kitchen where she was baking cookies. "The tree is here."

"You ordered a tree? I didn't know there was a lot in town that delivered." Annie asked, holding the door open and stepping aside to allow the delivery man entrance.

The poor guy hauling the huge monstrosity was having a hell of a time trying to get it through the frame and she grabbed at a branch to help him.

"There isn't," A muffled, frustrated voice called from the other side of the Douglas fir.

Annie pushed a few of the branches aside and peered through the rest to get a better look at the 'delivery man'. "Jeff?"

"There is no heat in your hallway and it's freezing out here. Can you help me drag this thing inside, please?"

"Hey, watch it over there. That doesn't sound like joyful Christmas spirit to me!" Shirley intoned still from the kitchen.

"Ho, Ho, Ho!" he muttered loud enough for her to hear before giving the tree a massive push.

With Annie's help, they got it inside and she closed the door behind them.

He propped the tree against the wall and slumped himself against the closed door.

"How did you get rooked into this?" Annie asked as she plucked a stray leaf from the sleeve of his jacket.

"She threatened to make our lives hell until after the holidays if we didn't help. She's got everyone in her evil Christmas clutches. Britta is downstairs getting a load of crap for the tree out of my car. And Pierce is shopping with Abed and Troy. I really wish I would have drawn that straw. Maybe my car wouldn't have a huge scratch on the roof now." He called out over her shoulder to Shirley.

"Careful, Jeff." she tweeted at him happily. "Santa Claus doesn't like ugly and neither does God."

"I'm sorry," Annie winced as she saw the grimace on his face. "I just mentioned this in passing and she took off."

"Of course I did." Shirley was behind her now and she put both her hands on Annie's shoulders and squeezed. "This is our little girl's first real Christmas. How could I not step in and make it the best Christmas ever? Maybe she'll find Jesus in the holiday spirit."

Annie gritted her teeth. Damn it, why couldn't every one see that she wasn't 'their little girl'? And why did Shirley have to say something like that in front of him?

He turned his attention to her and his face warmed as a pleasant smile took him over. "It's okay. I'm happy to help."

"You are?" Annie asked him doubtfully.

"Well, you know," he shrugged. "I wasn't doing anything else." The 'cool' mask was quickly and neatly back in place.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Shirley squeaked before hustling back to the kitchen to attend to her cookies.

"I really am sorry. I know this isn't really you're thing," Annie said quietly enough that she hoped Shirley couldn't hear.

Jeff reached out and briefly touched her shoulder. "It really is okay. I don't mind helping, if you're sure this is what you want."

She smiled back at him. "It is. I'm really having a lot of fun, hanging lights and baking cookies. Christmas has exploded all over my apartment and I like it."

He unfolded himself from the door and straighten his jacket. "Alright then, I'm going to see what's taking Britta so long then we'll get this tree up and decorate it."

Annie reached out and grabbed his hand. "Thank you."

He gave it a squeeze and her a smile. "Anytime, Milady. Always happy to help a damsel in distress."

Annie meandered back to the kitchen after he left and plucked a candy cane shaped cookie from a tray that Shirley had set out. "You didn't have to get everyone involved in this. You know how much he hates going to any kind of trouble."

"I was actually really surprised by how little I had to threaten him to get him to help. He was almost eager when I called, well eager for Jeff anyway."

"Really?" Annie asked looking at the door he'd just exited from.

"Yes, really. I told him you needed his help and he practically jumped, well jumped for Jeff anyway." She put her spatula aside and turned to give Annie her full attention. "Care to share what's going on between the two of you?"

"There isn't anything going on between us," Annie jumped in defensively. "Why do you keep asking me that?"

Shirley's smile turned almost sugary sweet. "Because, Jeff doesn't practically jump to help any of us, but the second he heard it was for you I barely had to threaten him at all. And I didn't have to use any guilt. He just said okay before he even knew what I needed. Then when I told him, he hardly argued over getting the tree for you, even though it meant strapping it to the hood of his car and risking scratching his precious Lexus in the process. That tells me something is going on. He wouldn't have done that for any of the rest of us."

Annie opened her mouth to protest, though she had no idea what she was going to say to that, when Jeff and Britta came through the door and saved her the trouble.

"Merry Christmas!" Britta said, after depositing an armload of boxes on her couch and coming over to give her a hug.

Annie hugged her back hesitantly. She and Britta had never really been what one would call friends. They weren't close like that and having Jeff lingering between them hadn't helped the two very opposite women to get along any better. "Merry Christmas. Thank you for coming," she returned when she pulled away.

"You're welcome, Sweetie. Of course I came. Shirley said you were feeling a little blue."

Annie turned on Shirley with fire in her eyes. "You told everyone I was depressed! That's how you got everyone here?"

"Well," Shirley shrugged. "Weren't you?"

Annie thought about that for a moment. If she had to put a word to her mood as she stared into the store window earlier, she supposed depressed would be the correct one. Still, she hadn't meant to cause all this and she hated that Shirley had run to the entire group with that information. "Well..." she started, still with her hands on her hips. "I guess, maybe a little. But you didn't have to do all this."

"Of course I didn't have to. I wanted to. And everyone else wanted to as well, because we love you, Annie." She smiled at her.

Annie felt the sudden need to stomp her foot but knew how childish it would seem so she squelched the impulse and dropped her arms to her sides. "I love you guys, too," she admitted grudgingly. "And thank you all for doing this."

"Would you stop thanking us?" Jeff interjected. "We wouldn't be here if we didn't want to be. You know that."

"Alright," she sighed. "That was the last time. Now, what are we supposed to do with that?" She gestured towards the large tree leaning against the wall.

Jeff chuckled. "This really is your first Christmas, huh?" Then he held his hand out to her. "Come on, I'll show you."

She took his hand and let him teach her how to put up a Christmas tree.

Getting it into a stand was a struggle even for Jeff and at six foot and change he stood nearly as tall as the tree. He was wearing a form-fitting, long sleeved black t-shirt today and Annie did her best not to notice the way his muscles bunched and flexed under the material as they strained with the burden of getting the tree onto the stand.

Once it was there, watered and had a skirt neatly in place around its trunk, Jeff, Annie and Britta stepped back to assess their work. It was a big tree, at least as tall as Jeff and full of beautiful, heavy, full, green branches ready for lights and ornaments.

Which made Annie realize they didn't have any ornaments for it. She mentioned this to the room in general and Britta tsked at her.

"Of course we have decorations. Why would we have brought a tree without anything to put on it?"

She told her before producing one of the boxes she'd laid on her couch.

"What about presents? We don't have any of those either."

"Abed and Troy are taking care of that," Jeff assured her.

"Abed and Troy don't have any money," she commented.

"No," he nodded in affirmation. "But Pierce has more than he needs so he's sponsoring the shopping trip. Hell, he bought everything you see here. Except for the tree. That's from me."

She turned to him with a shy smile. "You bought me a tree?"

"Yes, I bought you a tree and scratched my car bringing it to you. Merry Christmas, Annie. Now, don't go thanking me again. We've already been through that."

Without thinking since he refused to let her thank him, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. It didn't take more than a second before the surprise wore off and he was enfolding her in his arms as well.

"Ahem," Britta cleared her throat behind him and Jeff quickly let her go when he realized the hug had stretched out far longer than was entirely appropriate for a hug between friends. "Can we get this thing decorated already. I'm anxious to see it all lit up with lights."

Abed, Pierce and Troy joined them before they finished putting the finishing touches on the tree and with seven of them decorating it together it didn't take long before the tree came to life with lights and ornaments and tinsel. Shirley even popped some popcorn and Jeff showed Annie how to make a popcorn streamer.

Then when everything else was done, Shirley reached into the box and extracted one last item. She handed the star to Annie with a smile. "I think you should do the honors. All this was your idea, after all."

Annie took the star and looked up at the tree towering far over her head. "How do I get up there?" she asked.

Jeff came up behind her and lead her over to the tree. "I'll help," he announced before placing his hands on her waist.

Then before she could protest, he lifted her from the floor and held her up so she could reach the top of the tree.

She thought she heard Shirley give a little, 'Um hum,' as she reached out and placed the star on the highest bowel.

"Alright," Britta announced. "I think that's everything. We're ready."

Jeff stepped back from the tree, still holding Annie in the air and slowly lowered her causing her body to drag down the length of his. His eyes were sparkling merrily when her feet touched the floor and she turned towards him.

"Thank you," she whispered quietly.

"Anytime," he answered.

"Are we going to get this party started or are you two going to get a room?" Pierce asked, his voice booming over all the clatter of voices around them.

Everyone stopped what they were doing or saying and turned to stare at Jeff and Annie where they were standing in front of the tree. His hands were around her waist still. Hers had come to rest around his shoulders and they realized suddenly they were just standing there like that staring at each other.

"Pierce!" Britta admonished.

"What?" he asked like he had no idea what he had done to deserve the scolding.

Annie stepped out of Jeff's embrace and only then realized what Pierce had said. "Party?" she asked the room in general.

"We decided that since we were going through all this trouble, we might as well have a party while we're at it." Abed told her with his customary aplomb. Then he stepped up to her and Troy appeared right beside him suddenly. "We're sorry, Annie," he said.

"Sorry for what?" she asked, completely confused by the apology.

"We knew something was bothering you. And we ignored it," Troy answered.

"Oh, you guys, I didn't even know anything was bothering me until this morning. You don't have to apologize. It's okay," she assured them.

"No, it's not okay. Jeff said our job is to look out for you now and we didn't do a very good job of that." Abed told her.

Annie found Jeff with a narrowed eyed glare and her hands went to her hips again. "Is that right? What else did Jeff say?" she asked, anger seething just under the surface. She didn't know why it should come as such a surprise to her that he was treating her like a child again.

"He said we weren't doing our jobs because we left you alone with him in your bedroom last night. So we're sorry about that, too. It won't happen again." Abed assured her. "We just didn't know we were supposed to be protecting you from him."

"You are not supposed to be protecting me from anyone!" she snapped waspishly then felt instantly bad for it. "Look, I appreciate that you feel like you need to look out for me, but I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. And right now, I have something I need to do. Will you excuse me for a minute?"

"Sure," they both nodded. "It's your party," Troy added before she could walk away.

A moment later she was tugging on the sleeve of Jeff's shirt and pulling him along behind her.

"What's up?" he asked as he followed her even though she hadn't said a word to him yet.

She remained silent until she had them in her bedroom with the door closed behind her. It was only then that he began to protest. "Annie, after what Pierce just said, do you think that's a good idea?"

Her hands went to her hips again and she fumed at him. "I really don't give a damn if it's a good idea or not," she spat.

"What? What did I do?" he asked, taking a step back as he realized at last that she was angry.

"You told Abed and Troy that their job was to protect me!" she hissed.

He held up his hands in front of him like he was afraid she might hit him. He was right to be afraid. "It wasn't like that. You're taking this out of context."

"Really? And in what context should I take that so it doesn't sound like you're treating me like a kid again?" she fumed. "I can't do this anymore! How many times do I have to tell all of you that I can take care of myself. I don't need an older brother and I don't need a father!"

"Would you lower your voice? The whole apartment is going to know we're fighting," he said in a hushed tone.

"I don't give a damn if they think we're having sex in here. I want answers. When are you going to stop treating me like a child? What do I have to do to prove to you that I'm just as much of an adult as you are, more so most of the time?"

Her back was against the door and she was yelling now. It was all just too much. Nothing she did ever seemed to make a difference to these people, especially not him and she had had enough.

"I'm sorry, Annie. I didn't mean to make you mad. I just worry about you."

"Why? You don't worry about Britta or Shirley like that. What makes me so special? And I swear if you say that Britta and Shirley can take care of themselves, you need to know, I WILL hit you."

His face fell and took on a serious note. "I worry about you because I care about you," he answered sincerely.

"Why would you tell them they aren't doing their jobs because they left me alone with you last night? Why are you so afraid of being alone with me?" she pushed.

He gave a frustrated huff that came out like a growl and suddenly she was trapped between him and the door. "Because every time we're alone I can't stop thinking about this!" he answered a moment before his lips descended on hers.

She barely recovered, barely had a chance to wrap her arms around his broad shoulders before there was a knock at the door.

"Annie, let us in!" Troy yelled from the other side of the door.

"We aren't supposed to leave you alone like this. We aren't doing our job." Abed added.

"Go away!" she shouted at them when he pulled back.

She was trying to pull him back in, no longer caring about her plan, about how this wasn't the way she wanted to do this with him. Then the look on his face struck her and she pushed him away, causing him to stumble in the process. There it was again, the self-loathing, the inner hatred.

"Get out!" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

He took a step towards her, ignoring the pounding still coming from the door. "Annie, please."

"Please, what Jeff? Please ignore the fact that you can't kiss me without looking like you want to throw up afterward. I said I can't do this anymore and I meant it. Just get out!" she spat.

The look he gave her before he turned and left her room was one that caused her heart to constrict in her chest.

_Merry Fucking Christmas_, she thought mournfully as the door closed on his retreating back.


	5. Chapter 5

"It's about time. I'm starving," Adam Richter announced as Annie walked up to his table and sat down opposite him.

She had thought all morning about just telling him that this whole thing was off. Maybe it wasn't worth it. Maybe it wouldn't matter what she did, she would never be able to change the way Jeff Winger perceived her. She was a child in his eyes, never to be look upon like a viable mate. He had proven that with the stunt he'd pulled with Abed and Troy. Making them feel bad because they left her alone with him, that was a new low even for him and that was saying a lot.

She hadn't heard from him since the night of her party, a night she spent, instead of being merry, in her room, trying to avoid everyone. Now Shirley was mad at her because she went through so much trouble and she felt like Annie hadn't appreciated it. Britta was disappointed because she knew there was something going on between Annie and Jeff and she didn't approve. Troy and Abed were feeling guilty because they failed to do their job and they figured if they had Annie wouldn't be so sad. And Pierce was oblivious to all of it except the fact that everyone was upset and he'd determined that somehow it was his fault.

"Look, I'm here now, so what do you want to eat so we can do this already?" she snapped at the boy sitting across from her.

"Wow, someone didn't have a very good weekend," he muttered.

"No, someone didn't," she retorted.

"I heard you had a party. Did it not go well?"

"How did you hear about the party?" she demanded.

"Everyone knows you had a party. That Jeff guy sent out a text to just about the whole campus letting them know. I would have been there, but I had this thing to do with my grandparents," he explained.

She'd known there were a lot of people in her apartment Saturday night. She hadn't realized that it was most of the campus. Her friends really had gone through a lot of trouble for her. Now she felt doubly bad for letting them all think she didn't care.

"I think I'll have a muffin, blueberry" he said.

Annie retrieved his muffin and a cup of coffee for herself before returning to the table.

"So are you going to tell me who this guy is? I really should know who it is I'm giving this performance for, don't you think?" he said around a mouthful of food.

"Everyone. This isn't just for some guy anymore," she answered. "This is for all of them."

"All of who?"

"The study group. I have to make them all see that I'm a grown up and I don't need them looking out for me." She'd made that determination on her way to school that morning. This wasn't just about Jeff anymore. It was about all six of her friends seeing her as an adult, with adult relationships.

He got to his feet after wadding up the wrapper from his muffin and giving it a fling to the center of the table. Annie picked it up before getting to her feet as well.

"Let's do this!" he said cheerfully.

* * *

><p>Jeff parked his Lexus in its usual faculty parking spot and stepped out before locking it securely. His eyes wandered to the silver line running across the hood and he sighed inwardly. It wasn't even about the fucking scratch. He didn't give a damn about it. No, the scratch just reminded him of the tree which reminded him of her. He hadn't spoken to her since he shamefully skulked out of her apartment on Saturday. He'd thought about calling her, but stopped every time before hitting the send button on his phone. He didn't know what he could possibly say to her to make this okay. Abed and Troy were mad at him, too. Shirley and Britta weren't returning his calls and Pierce kept texting him to say he was sorry for whatever he did. It was all a royal mess.<p>

He'd screwed up. It wasn't completely unfamiliar territory for him. He'd done plenty of screwing up in his time. It hardly fazed him anymore, except when his screw up hurt Annie.

He tucked his book under his arm and took off towards the school determined to get through this day as quickly as possible. He was hoping to catch Annie before the study group met so that he could try to fix this mess. He wasn't sure how he was going to pull that miracle out of his ass, but he was Jeff Winger, talking himself out of his screw ups was what he did.

"Good morning, Winger," Britta said, sidling up to him with a scowl on her face. She was using her 'you're such a shit' voice and he couldn't even argue with it. He was a shit. "I'm surprised you had the nerve to show your face here today."

He looked over at her with a scowl of his own. "I go to school here. I didn't really have a choice and while we're on the subject, do you even know what I did to make you so righteously indignant or are you just going along with the crowd on this one?"

"Whatever you did it upset Annie, a lot and that is not okay with me. She's a sweet girl, Jeff. Leave her alone before you turn her into Lindsey Lohan."

He stopped in mid-step and looked at her accusingly. "I'm not turning her into anything. We just had a disagreement and suddenly I'm the bad guy. How do any of you know this wasn't all her fault?"

Britta scoffed and rolled her eyes before turning away from him and starting off again.

"Alright," he admitted as he caught up to her. "It was my fault. It's always my fault. I'm a douche. Are you happy now?"

She stopped walking so abruptly that he accidentally bumped into her and caused her to stumble forward a few paces.

"What the hell, Britta?" he demanded as he reached for her shoulder to steady her.

She turned to face him with a smug smile. "Looks like it doesn't matter. Annie appears to really be done with you this time. And I say, good for her."

Jeff followed her line of sight until he spied what had stopped her. Annie was standing right outside the front door of the school, her back against one of the large white columns, twirling a curl of hair coyly around her finger, and the body of Adam Richter pressed nearly into her. He was smiling at her and Jeff felt his heart drop to his feet when he saw Annie smiling back, giving him her best, brightest smile. It was his smile. It was the smile she reserved for him, or he liked to think that was the way it was, obviously he'd been wrong. Obviously she just gave that smile out to any sucker with a chiseled jawline and sculpted abs.

"Hey, Winger, you seem to be at a loss for words," Britta intoned maliciously. Then he heard the snap of the camera on her phone as she took a picture. "Sorry, but when am I ever going to get another chance to see you speechless? I had to record it. It's like seeing a comet that only comes around once in your lifetime."

He batted her camera out of his face and tried to look away from the scene in front of him. "I'm not speechless. I'm glad to see that she's moving on. This is what I wanted all along. I really wish you had a little more faith in me."

"I would have a little faith in you if it weren't for the fact that I know you. You're a disgusting, sleazy man and whether you admit it or not, that," she pointed towards Annie and her new man, "bothers you, a lot."

He couldn't help but feel stung by her words. This was what he wanted, that was true enough. He just hadn't been prepared for how much seeing it would disturb him. Still he couldn't just let Britta think she'd won. "You didn't think I was disgusting and sleazy when you were hooking up with me all last year," he bit out to her retreating back.

She didn't bother to turn around, opting instead to just raise her middle finger high into the air at him.

The man holding Annie, his Annie, hostage, shifted and suddenly Britta was completely forgotten when the little punk leaned in close and brushed his lips hesitantly over hers. Jeff thought he saw Annie tense but figured he must have been imagining it because a moment later she was circling her arms around the boy's boney shoulders (like she did when Jeff kissed her) and running her fingers through the short hairs at the nape of his neck (like she did when Jeff kissed her).

"Well, well, doesn't that look cozy," a new voice said as someone stepped up beside him. Jeff didn't bother to acknowledge the newcomer, knowing by the voice exactly who had joined him. This day was getting better and better.

"What do you want?" he spat towards the Dean without taking his eyes away from Annie.

"Nothing, yet," he answered before walking away as well and leaving Jeff alone.

He suddenly felt creepy, standing in the bushes, alone, just watching as the kid in Annie's arms pulled her even further into him and began to run his hands up her sides.

He really hoped that background check he was having done came back okay. If not, Jeff was afraid all the legal skills he possessed wouldn't keep him out of jail after he destroyed the little bastard for touching her like that.

* * *

><p>She knew he was watching. She could feel his eyes on her as she pulled away from Adam and gave him a smile.<p>

"Was that too much?" he asked, smiling back at her like a fool.

"No, it was fine. I have to get to class though."

He leaned back, giving her some breathing room and she used it to take a deep cleansing breath.

"Do you want me to have lunch with you?" he asked, quietly.

"Lunch would be good," she answered reaching out to adjust the collar of his jacket because it seemed like the thing to do.

"You know, this might not be so bad. You're kind of pretty." He told her before snatching a final kiss and flitting away.

She stared after him for a long moment trying not to let his words bite into her. It might not be so bad having to pretend he liked her. He thought she was kind of pretty. Wow, you just couldn't buy compliments like that. Well, actually, she supposed she could.

"Are you still not speaking to me?" She heard him well before he stepped into her line of vision and her first impulse was to just walk away instead of engaging him, but she just couldn't make herself do it. Even a heated conversation with Jeff was better than no conversation at all. It had only been two days since she last spoke to him and already she missed him so much it was ridiculous.

"No, actually, I'm not," she replied flippantly hoping he would take the bait.

"Ah, see there, you spoke. So you are speaking to me," he answered like she'd hoped he would.

"I'm only speaking to you to tell you I'm not speaking to you," she retorted gathering her books to her chest and starting off towards her first class of the morning.

He fell right into step beside her and she hid her smile so that he wouldn't see it.

"Annie, I'm sorry about Saturday. I didn't mean to upset you. I know it isn't Abed and Troy's job to look after you," he said.

"No, it isn't. I don't need a pair of babysitters, Jeff. You do remember that I lived all by myself for quite a while before I moved in with them and I did perfectly fine."

"I know you did and I know you aren't a child. I'm sorry. Can we please just get past this and go back to being friends? I remember we were having a pretty good time at the party before all this started."

"You mean before you ruined it by being an over protective ass?" she asked, throwing him a sideways glare.

He had the decency to look sheepish at that. Then he nodded. "Yes, I was an over protective ass, but only because I care about you. Did you have fun at the party after I left?"

"I didn't go to the party," she admitted.

"How could you not have gone to the party? It was at your apartment."

"If you must know, I spent the night in my room, studying."

He stopped walking and she almost ignored it and continued on without him, but again, she couldn't make herself do it.

"What?" she asked.

"I ruined the whole night for you. It was your party and you didn't go to it because of me," he answered, sadly.

She almost told him he was exactly right just to see him squirm but the look on his face said he was squirming enough already. "It's okay, Jeff. I'll recover. I didn't even want a party, just a tree and some presents and I got all that thanks to you."

He started walking again and she joined him. "It isn't right. I'm going to make it up to you. How about New Year's Eve? We'll have another party, a bigger, better party and I won't be a douche this time."

"Okay," she nodded, immediately liking the idea. Then she paused. "But can we have it at your place? I'm still cleaning up from Saturday."

He hesitated before an idea came to him. "No, but we can have it at Pierce's place. Let his maid clean up afterward."

She scoffed at that. "That's a terrible thing to say."

"Maybe, but it doesn't make it less true. I'll talk to him today. He seems to think everyone is mad at him anyway, so I'll tell him it'll make up for what he did."

"He didn't do anything this time," she scolded.

Jeff shrugged. "He doesn't know that."

She left him with that, deciding it was easier to just let it go than to argue over how wrong it was to take advantage of Pierce like that. Besides, she considered, most of the time, Pierce deserved it.


	6. Chapter 6

Jeff Winger had long since thrown off the black satin comforter he'd used to cover himself with upon first climbing into his king size bed. It was a normal thing for him. He normally ended up kicking the blankets off halfway through the night. It was one of the reasons he didn't allow women to stay over. They were constantly trying to keep the blankets where they were supposed to be while he fought to get them away from him.

He laid sprawled on his back in the middle of the bed, hands and legs both flopped out in opposite directions as if he were pointing to all four corners of the world. That was also normal and again it was another reason he didn't do sleepovers. He had always been accused of being a bed hog. But it was his bed and he'd hog it if he wanted.

One day, he suspected, he'd find a girl that didn't mind if he tossed off all the blankets and slept in the middle of the bed. And that would be the one he kept. The one that just let him be who he was and didn't try to change him, improve him or mold him into something he wasn't.

He glanced at the clock on the small round table beside the bed and heaved a tired sigh. It was nearly three and he hadn't slept more than a few minutes. He just couldn't seem to get his mind to shut up and let him rest.

Now, that wasn't entirely true, he silently chided himself. That wasn't the reason he couldn't sleep, even after an Ambien and half a bottle of scotch.

Another look towards the bedside table reminded him all too well of why sleep was so evasive for him.

A Christmas card from his mother begging him to come home for a visit lay on top of a plain manilla folder. Both were responsible for his restlessness, though, he admitted shamefully, one more so than the other. He felt bad for that. His mother was important to him. The card said she had something important to discuss with him and asked if he would please try to make it home for Christmas. He hadn't sent a reply yet, or called like he knew he should.

The thought of spending Christmas at home just did not appeal to him. He didn't want to have to paint on a smile and spend the holiday pretending that everything was rosy in his world. His world wasn't rosy. There was nothing rosy about it, in fact and his holiday plans included wallowing in that not pretending it was different.

He was however a little curious about whatever it was she wanted to discuss with him. The last time she'd said something like that, he ended up with a stepfather. Thankfully that had only lasted two years. Especially since the guy was only a handful of years older than Jeff and drank beer like a fish. The constant noxious smell of stale alcohol and cigarettes that surrounded his 'new Dad' had kept him from home for more than one holiday. He had long since decided that his mother had absolutely the worst taste in men.

It was a trait apparently not shared with Annie, though. The manilla envelope under the card attested to that. She'd chosen well and Jeff wasn't sure how he felt about it. Adam Richter appeared to be a descent guy, at least on paper. Jeff hadn't realized how much he wanted to find out he was a douche so he could beat the shit out of the guy and unceremoniously toss him out of Annie's life.

Now it was with a heavy heart, but a clear conscious, that he had to admit that Annie was okay and didn't need him to come charging in to rescue her.

The fact was, he really, really wanted to come charging in to rescue her. He had never felt that way about anyone, but something about Annie inspired in him a primal need to protect her, to save her, to be the knight in shining armor he'd never seen himself as before.

He laughed out loud to the empty room at the image that thought conjured in his mind. Jeff Winger, hero. The thought itself was absurd. He wasn't a hero. He was everything a hero wasn't.

His phone sounded out from beside the clock on the table and he reached for it, knowing exactly who it was calling him at this hour. Still, he was a little surprised. She hadn't called him like this since the night of the party. Before that, this was a normal thing. They had established the pattern back around the same time they were occasionally falling into bed together and while the physical part of the relationship hadn't really taken hold, this part had and he decided as he placed the phone to his ear that he really missed it.

"What has you awake so early this morning?" he asked before she had a chance to say hello.

Britta cleared her throat before answering him. "I don't know. I was just sitting here watching infomercials and I thought I'd take the chance on you being awake, too."

He shifted, turning to his side and readjusting the pillow under his head. "I haven't been to sleep yet," he admitted.

"Me either. I guess it must be the holidays. I really hate the holidays." She told him, quietly.

"I got this card from my mother. Apparently she has something she wants to discuss with me," he announced.

"Any idea what it could be about?"

"None, but I'm sure it isn't anything good. It never is with her."

"Maybe it's nothing. Maybe she just wants to see you. How long has it been since you were home for a visit?"

He thought about that for a moment before he realized it had been nearly a year since he'd seen his mother face to face. There was really no excuse for that. He didn't even live that far away. "It's been a while," he mumbled.

He hoped she didn't press for more than that. He was ashamed of himself for his 'out of sight, out of mind' attitude towards his mother. She might not have been perfect, but she'd always done the best she could for him. She deserved more. He decided it was best to try to change the subject.

"What is it about the holidays that you hate so much it has you awake at three in the morning?"

"Okay, it's not the holidays that has me up," she admitted grudgingly.

"Alright then," He sat up and readjusted the phone on his ear. "Let's have it."

He heard her shifting as well and gave her a moment to get comfortable. "I went out earlier," she said at last.

"That's good."

"It was, until I ended up going home with this guy I met," she replied.

"Well, since you're talking to me and not still in bed with him, it's safe to assume he wasn't Prince Charming," he surmised.

"No, he wasn't. He was more like you."

"Ouch," he quipped trying to play it off like the comment hadn't stung as much as it really had. "What does that mean?"

"It means I was still trying to catch my breath when he was tossing clothes at me and pushing me out of his apartment. Really, Jeff, how do you live with yourself after we're gone? Do you feel the least a little bit bad for being such an asshole?" Her voice had taken on an accusing tone.

"I didn't do anything," he protested trying to reminded her that he hadn't been the one to toss her out like that. Not this time, at least.

"But it is what you do, it's exactly what you do. There were times when we were hooking up, when it bothered you if I wanted to take a shower before I left." she reminded him. "I just want to know why you do it? What is it about women that scares you so much?"

He opened his mouth to tell her that he didn't push women out the door like that. But he knew, she knew from experience that it was a lie. The reason they'd worked for as long as they did was because she knew it about him in advance and accepted it.

"I don't know," he said finally. "Maybe its because the minute you aren't shoving your tongues down our throats, your trying to run our lives. If we give you even a second, you're redecorating in your heads and thinking about how all your stuff will fit into our apartments."

"That isn't true," she argued. "We aren't all like that."

"But more are than aren't and that's what scares us. We never know. You are tricky. Just when we think we've found one of you that isn't like that, we come home one night and you're already there making dinner, wearing an apron and putting decorative throw pillows all over our couch."

She huffed so loudly that he clearly heard it through the phone. "Just because we want to take a minute to catch our breathes or wash your smelly sweat off us, it doesn't mean we're trying to move in. And besides, if you like someone enough to have sex with them, is it really that hard to just lay there with them for a while?"

He paused and took a second to move the phone to his other ear before answering. "Okay, see I think maybe this is where we're all getting confused. We don't have to like you to have sex with you. We don't even have to know you. The problem between men and women is always the same. You women are looking for a relationship, something to make you feel all whole and complete and less empty inside. We men just want to get laid. It's not the nicest reality in the world but its the truth. We aren't searching for a way to fill the void or the other half of our soul. We just want to have sex and move on to the next girl in line. For us its about quantity not quality."

She was quiet for so long he thought she'd hung up on him. "That can't be true," she said at long last.

"Oh, but it is, Sweetheart," he assured. "I feel like I've just told you there was no Santa Claus and I'm sorry, but it was something you needed to hear."

"Jeff Winger, you are a pig and I refuse to believe that all men feel like that," she retorted.

He huffed this time. "Believe whatever you want to believe. You asked and I answered."

"Okay, tell me this, you huge sack of misogynistic shit, how would you feel if Adam thought about Annie like that?"

He felt his heart drop to his feet at the thought of that. "Annie is different," he answered quickly without thinking.

"Why? What makes Annie so special?" Britta snapped.

"She just is. For the record, I'm not a misogynist. I love women."

"Okay, maybe misogynist is too harsh, would you prefer chauvinist?"

"No, I don't prefer chauvinist. I believe that women can be just as vile and depraved as men can be," he replied.

"God," she tisked at him scornfully. "Are you sure you shouldn't be in some kind of program or at least under the supervision of a therapist or psychiatrist? How did you ever get me to agree to sleep with you?"

"I have irresistible charm," He chuckled.

"You have nice abs and a cute butt, more like." She teased him back.

"Now who's the chauvinist? I suddenly feel so used."

"You were." she quipped.

They grew quiet for a moment then he cleared his throat before glancing over at the manilla folder. "I got the background check back today,"

He heard her shifting around, then she sighed. "Why? Why would you have a background check run on this guy just because you saw him talking to her in the hall? It's just so creepy."

"I know," he muttered, much more comfortable admitting the truth while he lay there in the dark, alone with nothing but her voice to judge him, to condemn him.

"Then why did you do it?" she pushed, knowing there was something going on, just not sure what exactly. Britta never had been one of his brightest friends.

He turned to his side and his eyes locked on the envelope. "I just had to," was all he could come up and he knew it wouldn't be good enough.

"Just had to?" she replied like he suspected she would. "You know I know something is going on there. I'm not that stupid. I'm just not sure what."

"I think Annie may have misinterpreted some things that happened between us. Now she has this crush on me," he tried.

"I'm not talking about that. Everyone knows that. I'm thinking now that maybe those feelings aren't as one sided as I thought they were. I know you said you wanted her to find someone good for her and move on, but the look on your face this morning wasn't saying that at all."

"She's like a little sister to me. I just want to look out for her, make sure she's alright," he scoffed.

"I can recall at least two situations that you, yourself told me about that say differently."

He shifted again, nervous at the sudden turn this conversation had taken, yet he couldn't seem to make himself stop answering her. It was like he wanted to talk about this and Britta was the closest thing he had to a real best friend anymore.

"Those times were mistakes. I got carried away. I get carried away a lot when she's around," he admitted as he sat up on the side of the bed and rubbed his eyes.

"You get carried away a lot when she's around?" Britta teased. "Wow, Winger that was almost poetic."

"Look, Britta," he said when he realized there was no way of pretending this wasn't exactly what it was. "I'm handling this. I've got it under control. There's no need for threats, or lectures or whatever else you're thinking. I know how bad this is without you reminding me."

She sat there quietly for a time, whether thinking about what he'd said or contemplating her next move he couldn't be sure. "What is it exactly that you're handling, Jeff? I just assumed we were talking about lust here. A lot of lust, but I've seen you go to some pretty great lengths to get laid, the study group for one example"

"This isn't like that. I'm not just trying to manipulate her into my bed. I wouldn't do that to her." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and he regretted them immediately. "Britta, I didn't mean it like that. I'm not saying-"

"It's alright. Forget it. You say you get carried away when she's around, so what does that mean? What are you saying?"

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before clearing his throat again. "I'm saying that there may be a small chance that I might have some more than lustful feelings for Annie."

"You're in love with her!" Britta nearly shouted into the phone.  
>"Whoa there!" he said, sitting up straighter. "I didn't say that. That's one hell of a jump."<p>

"Is it?" she replied. "Is it really? Doesn't seem that far to me. You're just too much of a chicken shit to admit it."

"I'm not a chicken shit and I'm not in love with her," he protested a little lamely.

"Can you think of another reason why you went so far with this kid she'd barely met? What were you hoping to find in that report, Jeff? What were you really hoping to find? If you won't be honest with me, at least be honest with yourself. You wanted this kid to be bad news so you could march in and save her from him."

Was he really so transparent? He thought he'd been hiding all this really well.

"Alright, I guess I have a lot more than lustful feelings for her," he said after a minute.

"What was that? I'm not sure I heard you," she pressed.

"I said, I have feelings for her. Are you happy now?"

"It's a start. Now what are you going to do about it?"

He was too shocked to replied, unable to formulate the words in his mind. Was she encouraging this? Annie really didn't have any one besides him to look out for her.

"I'm not going to do anything about it except diligently pretend it's not there," he said at last.

"But you love her."

"Britta, are you even listening to yourself? Weren't you the one just this morning that said I was going to turn her into Lindsey Lohan?"

"That was before I knew what this is really about. I thought you just wanted to get laid again. I didn't know it was more than that," she answered.

"No it makes it worse," he countered.

"For who? You or her?"

"Her. This isn't about me."

"Oh this is about you, alright. You're telling yourself that you can't be with her because you'll just hurt her in the end, but the truth is, this time, you know it might be you to get hurt and you can't take that chance. Careful there, Jeff, it looks like the Wizard may have finally found you a heart."

"And Pysch 101 rears it's ugly head. When we're done with me, can we do Pierce?" he joked in an attempt to lighten the mood. He wasn't too happy with how right she just might be.

"I wouldn't try to analyze Pierce if you paid me," she joined in, letting him off the hook, at least for the moment.

"It's nearly five, maybe we should try to get some sleep," he suggested.

"Yeah, that's probably a food idea," she agreed.

"Hey, can you do me a favor and not say anything about any of this?" he asked.

"You know the rules, Winger. I wouldn't do that."

"Goodnight, Britta," he said, before hanging up. "I'm glad you called."

"'Night, Jeff. I'm glad I called, too."


	7. Chapter 7

"Since we're waiting for Pierce, how about Annie tells us about her new guy?" Britta turned her inquisitive eyes towards the younger girl and raised her eyebrows. "We're all seen you around campus with him."

They had all taken their spots around the table and now five sets of eyes were staring at her expectantly.

"It's nothing really," she answered coyly as she squirmed in her seat.

"It didn't look like nothing yesterday when Abed and I caught the two of you making out," Troy interjected.

"They were making out?" Shirley asked raising her own eyebrows but in a much more disapproving way.

"We weren't making out," she protested. "We might have kissed."

"Might have kissed?" Britta asked, "Do you not know whether it was a kiss or not? Weren't you paying attention?"

"Can we talk about something else?" Jeff said, seemingly coming to her rescue. "Obviously she doesn't want to talk about it."

"At least tell us his name," Britta pressed, ignoring him.

"His name is Adam. He's a nice guy. I like him." She told the room in general, glad that they were taking the bait she'd been laying all over campus for them. She had done her best over the last few days to make certain the rest of the group caught sight of her and Adam. It hadn't been easy. And now she was using all her feeble acting skills to make them think she didn't want to talk about it.

She tried to inconspicuously glance at Jeff to gauge his reaction, but when she did, she found him watching her as well and their eyes met. She was the first to blink, hoping he hadn't caught anything he shouldn't have in her gaze.

"Well, I want to get to know this guy better. If you like him, we should get to meet him at least," Shirley announced. "Maybe we could all go out later and do something fun."

"Like what?" Britta asked, quickly grabbing hold of the idea.

"I don't know," Jeff said at the same time.

"There's a new Karaoke bar that just opened up down the street from our apartment. Maybe we could go there?" Troy suggested.

"Now, I really don't know," Jeff replied. "I have that thing I need to do."

"What thing?" Britta turned on him sharply and narrowed her eyes.

"The thing that doesn't involve drunken Karaoke." He told her.

"It'll be fun," Shirley almost squealed in delight.

"I'm not sure Adam is free tonight. It's kind of short notice," Annie said.

"Call him and find out. I'll call Pierce and tell him to meet us there instead of here. We can just blow off the study session for today."

"It's not like we have anything to study for. We've already been through all our finals. We're just waiting for Christmas break to start now," Troy said.

"Well, Abed, you've been awfully quiet. What do you think?" Britta asked, causing everyone's attention to land on the previously unnoticed young man between her and Troy.

"Yeah, come on, Abed, tell them all that this is a bad idea." Jeff tried to recruit him to his side.

"I haven't had time to fully understand this new character. I need more research. I think Karaoke would be good for that," Abed answered.

Annie grabbed her phone with a sigh and stepped out of the room to call Adam.

The smokey atmosphere in the bar stung her eyes and made Annie blink rapidly in quick succession. She didn't even know why it was smokey. It was a non-smoking bar. She picked up her glass and took a sip of the fruity red drink. Britta had ordered it for her. She insisted it was non-alcoholic, but Annie was almost sure she tasted a sharpness that shouldn't be there if that was true. Still, she wasn't letting that stop her. Besides, with the amount of tension zipping around the round booth in the back corner of the bar, she'd need the alcohol to get through the night.

Between Pierce and Jeff giving her poor date the evil eye every time she looked away, Britta grilling him like he was being interrogated by the police and Abed being very Abed, she was amazed Adam hadn't already bolted. Shirley and Troy were doing their best to make him feel welcome, but as usual Shirley's attempt was over the top and Troy's was awkward and forced. All in all, he looked completely miserable and Annie could almost see him planning his escape in his mind.

Deciding it was time to do something before her plans fell apart right before her eyes, she took another long sip from her drink, pretended not to notice how it made her cheeks warm instantly and got to her feet.

"I'm going to sing. This is a Karaoke bar. I'm pretty sure that's what we're supposed to do here. Who's with me?" she asked, eying each of her friends in turn.

"I'll go," Britta said, starting to get to her feet before being halted by a resounding round of, "NO!" from everyone at the table.

"I'm not that bad," she pouted while settling back in her seat.

Shirley patted her hand comfortingly. "Yes, you are. But it's okay. I'll go with you, Annie. This was my idea, after all."

She caught Jeff eying her over Adam's shoulder and pointedly ignored him.

Annie cast her gaze towards the frumpy, middle-aged woman who was making her way off the stage as they approached. She wobbled in her attempt and one of her friends came to rescue her before she stumbled, giving them an apologetic smile before leading her over to one of the bar stools.

"What should we sing?" Shirley asked, stepping up to the monitor and scrolling through their song choices.

"What do you think of Adam?" Annie asked since she had the opportunity. This might tell her whether her plan was working or not.

"He seems nice." Shirley smiled at her brightly.

She wanted to ask Shirley if Jeff had said anything to her about Adam but she couldn't manage to work up the nerve. They were halfway through a fairly descent rendition of 'Ain't no mountain high enough' when the alcohol kicked in. And while she hadn't had much of her drink, she'd had enough. So when Shirley bowed out and went back to the table, she stayed to tackling 'Can't fight the Moonlight' all alone.

The bass pumped, guiding her body as she moved over the small stage, completely uninhibited for what might have been the first time in her life. She strutted and swayed letting her hips flow to the rhythm as she sang. Halfway through the number her friends were coming to stand around the stage, cheering her on. She liked that. Approval was her thing.

Despite the protests of everyone around her, Britta wormed her way up on the stage to join her and they finished the number together accompanied by the whistles and cheers of all those listening to the performance. Annie had to really belt out the last part of the song, but that was what it took to drown out her well-meaning duet partner. Britta really did have the worst singing voice she'd ever heard. Some people should stick to humming.

She climbed off the stage as the last few bars of the music faded and was met by Pierce holding her drink out to her. She took it with a quiet thanks and sank to the back of the crowd to sip it in peace. Adam sidled up to her and looked as if he were about to say something, but stopped before going any further and they all turned their attention to the new act on the stage – Shirley taking on an old Motown number like a pro.

"That was great. You're really good," Adam said as if finally deciding on the right words.

Annie gave him a polite smile and nodded. "Thanks."

She glanced around and noticed that not all her friends had come up to the stage. There was one person missing from the crowd and she cast her eyes back to the table to look for him.

"Where's Jeff?" she asked when she didn't find him there either.

"He was right here while you were singing." Adam informed her. "Couldn't take his eyes off you, I might add."

"Really?" she asked hopefully, then quickly reined it in. "I mean, not that I care whether he was watching me, or not. I mean it doesn't matter to me either way. I just noticed he wasn't here." She was rambling and she knew it. _Sounding like a complete idiot is more like_, she chided herself silently.

Adam just laughed. "He stepped outside right before you finished. I guess he needed a little fresh air."

"Oh," she chirped and went back to her drink. She sucked up the last remaining dregs from the bottom before finding a nearby table and setting the empty glass down.

"Well," Adam prompted.

"Well what?" she asked, truly not understanding what he wanted her to say.

"He's outside, all alone and contemplating how hot you were just now. I'm no expert, but I'd say you could probably use some fresh air, too." he explained patiently. "Maybe you could talk him into a duet?"

Annie laughed. "This scene is so not cool enough for Jeff. You think he's contemplating my hotness because you don't know him. What he's really doing is trying to come up with an excuse to leave that won't make him look like an ass. How about I try to talk you into a duet instead?"

"I think that might be arranged," he answered as he took her hand and lead her to the stage.

* * *

><p>There was a nip in the air and Jeff shoved his hands in the pockets of his heavy jacket while turning his face into the wind at the same time. The cold was good. The cold grounded him, helped him think, sobered him up. He'd had a little more to drink than he normally would have during an outing with these particular friends, or more to the point, more to drink than he liked around Annie. She threw him off his game bad enough when he was sober. He couldn't handle being drunk around her. He was notorious for doing stupid shit when he was drunk. He was also notorious for doing stupid shit around her. So putting the two together was a dangerous mixture.<p>

The strains of music from inside the bar drifted in the air and he was pretty sure it was Shirley on the stage now. He was glad. He'd had all he could take of watching Annie up there. She'd been so beautiful and carefree, strutting around, moving to the music. The memory of her up there like that was one that would stay with him for a while, of that he was certain.

He took a long drag from the cigarette in his hand and blew the smoke out slowly, enjoying the taste on his tongue. He only smoked when he drank. He used to. When he was working at the firm he had a pack a day habit, but he'd curbed it down to times of extreme stress and when he drank. He figured it was a small indulgence he could live with.

The door of the bar opened and he knew for sure it was Shirley singing when the sounds from inside become less muffled.

"What are you doing out here?" Britta asked as she stepped out and let the door close behind her.

He shook his head and tried to inconspicuously drop the cigarette from his hand.

"Since when do you smoke?" she asked accusingly as her eyes went to his hand before he could follow through with the motion.

Deciding that the jig was up, he shrugged and tossed her a halfhearted smile. "I only do it when I drink."

"All that time I was trying to quit you never mentioned that you were a smoker, too," she commented, dryly.

"There wasn't much of a point. I only do it when I drink, like I said," he explained.

"I assume you have more than one," she said, stepping up to him with her hand out.

"I thought you quit," he said as he reached into his pocket, withdrew the pack and handed one to her along with a lighter.

"I did. I only do it when I drink." She gave him a wiry smile then busied herself with lighting it.

"That was some show the two of you put on just now." He gestured towards the bar.

"It was fun. You should try it."

"I don't sing unless I'm forced," he retorted quickly.

"I meant having fun. It's not something you let yourself indulge in very often. Have you considered the fact that you might not be so uptight all the time if you just let yourself have a little fun once in a while?"

He shrugged. "I've considered it, but I'm going through this uptight, brooding faze right now and it doesn't really fit the mood. People will see me smiling and then all of a sudden I'm not uptight, brooding guy anymore. Then I'm happy, fun guy and I'll have to start a whole new faze."

The music inside the bar shifted. Britta glanced towards the door before turning back to him with a smug smile. "I think I hear Annie again and wait...what's that? It sounds like Annie's new boyfriend promising not to break her heart."

Jeff did his best the hide his wince as he focused on the new song as well. Sure enough, he could make the sounds of Annie and Adam belting out the lyrics to Elton John's 'Don't go breaking my heart'.

"Ah, that's so sweet," Britta beamed a smile at him.

"Alright, do we really have to do this?" he asked her as he took one last drag from his cigarette before dropping it and stomping it out with the heel of his boot.

"Yes, we do. Tell me you don't want to just march in there and show that little punk how to sing. Tell me this isn't eating you alive."

"I don't sing," he repeated.

"But you can. I've heard you. You aren't even terrible at it. It's a shame you're such a chicken shit."

"I'm not chicken shit. And I'm not falling for this. You can't just dare me."

"I'm not daring you," she said challengingly. "I'm double-dog daring you."

He opened his mouth to protest but the last strains of the music were drifting in the air and his mind kept conjuring up pictures of Annie and Adam smiling at each other like idiots as they gazed lovingly and sang the words.

He narrowed his eyes at Britta. "I really don't like you right now." He told her before stalking around here and heading back into the bar.

"Do I get a turn?" he asked just as Annie was exiting the stage again.

"You want to sing?" she asked, looking doubtful.

"I do, but I don't want to go up there alone. Will you come with me?" he replied, putting on his best vulnerable face.

Annie glanced towards Adam who just smiled back at her and nodded subtly. "Okay, I'll sing with you." she answered after a moment's hesitation.

"I'll pick something," Jeff offered as he darted past the boy and climbed the stairs to the stage.

He found it quickly, already knowing exactly what he was looking for.

_Now I've had the time of my life, No, I've never felt like this before_

_Yes, I swear it's the truth and I owe it all to you,_ Jeff sang as he made his way to the center of the stage and extended his hand out to her.

_Cause I've had the time of my life and I owe it all to you_, Annie joined him.

She walked right up to him and he moved in behind her, letting one of his arms circle her waist and bringing her into his chest.

_I've been waiting for so long now I've finally someone to stand by me, _he started as he settled into the song.

_Saw the writing on the wall and we felt this magical fantasy_, Annie came in on her cue as she sank more firmly against him.

_Now with passion in our eyes there's no way we can disguise secretly_

_So we take each others hand because we seem to under the urgency, _their voices combined perfectly as her hand joined his where it rested over her waist and she entangled her fingers in his.

_Just remember, _he practically purred in her ear.

_you're the one thing_, she answered in the same tone.

_I can't get enough of, _he sang.

_So I'll tell you something, _she replied.

_This could be love_, he almost stumbled over the words, hesitating only until she squeezed his hand encouragingly.

_Because I've had the time of my life. _

_No I've never felt this way before, _Somehow Annie's free hand had found its way to the back of his head and she tangled her fingers in his hair.

_Yes I swear, its the truth, and I owe it all to you_

She let go of his hand and turned in his arms, bringing hers around his shoulders and leveling him with a stare so intense it twisted things low in his stomach and caused a lump to form I n his throat.

_With my body and soul I want more than you'll ever know._

He missed his cue and had to hurry to catch up to where he was supposed to be in the song, _So we'll just let it go, don't be afraid to lose control_

_Yes, I know what's on your mind when you say stay with me tonight, _she returned having no problem at all keeping up with her part of the lyrics while still giving him that look that shook him down to his toes.

He got the through the second round of the chorus on auto-pilot. His familiarity with the song was the only thing that made it possible. She was throwing him off balance, making him regret the song choice more and more as the words played out between them.

This wasn't what this was supposed to be about. He didn't want this thing between them to play out in front of an entire bar full of bystanders.

Suddenly, he felt trapped, like an animal in a cage at the zoo. Too many eyes were on him and his emotions were too raw, too intense. He felt as if everything he was thinking, all the feelings bubbling inside him were on display and they all knew. Everyone in the bar knew that this was more than a song, more than just some random words set to music. The whole crowd knew exactly how he felt and each of them were judging him for those feelings.

His survival instincts suddenly kicked in and he pulled away from her, dropped his microphone and bolted from the stage and out the bar without a backwards glance, leaving her standing there, dumb-struck, staring after him.


	8. Chapter 8

He made it halfway down the block before he heard the door of the bar open behind him, a fact which propelled him forward instead of causing him to pause. He didn't want to talk this out. He didn't want to deal with his feeling. He just wanted to escape.

The rain had started now, pelting down on him in fat drops that soaked his hair and chilled him to the bone. He cussed himself for running out without grabbing his coat. The rain was just a few degrees away from snow.

The footsteps behind him grew closer and he sped up to counteract them as he glanced down the street in hopes of spotting a cab. If he could find one, maybe he could dash inside and get away before his tail could catch up to him.

It was a woman. He could tell that by the clicking of heels on the sidewalk. That meant Shirley, Britta, or worse case – Annie.

Nothing stirred on the roads and realized that failure was imminent. He took a deep breath to steel himself before stopping and turning towards his pursuer while offering up a silent prayer that it was anyone, _anyone, _other than her.

He quickly realized that no one was listening when he found her coming towards him with his coat in her hands.

"You left this," she said, handing it over as soon as she was close enough and raising her voice over the rain that was swiftly gaining traction.

"Thank you," he muttered, taking it from her and shrugging into it.

"Do you want to tell me what happened back there? I thought we were having a good time," she asked, a little hesitantly.

"I'd rather not talk about this. You should get back to your date and enjoy the rest of your night."

The rain had soaked her hair as well and it stuck to her face, framing her large eyes as she stared him down. "We'd really like it if you came back, too. Everyone was worried when you took off like that."

He purposefully found a place over her shoulder and let his eyes settle there. "I'm not very good company tonight. You go have fun. I'll see you all tomorrow in class," he tried.

"At least let Shirley take you home. You'll never get a cab in at this hour and it's not the best neighborhood," she returned.

"I'm just going to walk back to campus and get my car. It's not that far," he protested.

"Yes, it is and it's raining."

"Rain never bothered me. I like it, helps me think."

Suddenly, she crossed her arms over her chest and stomped her foot. "Damn it, Jeff. Why are you being so difficult? You're going to get pneumonia out here."

He huffed in response and crossed his own arms though more to ward off the chill than because he was angry, too. "I just want to be alone right now. Why are you making this so difficult?"

"I can see that you're upset. Why won't you talk to me? I don't even know what I did wrong," she pressed.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Annie. I just can't deal with this right now."

"Deal with what?"

He bite into his bottom lip afraid he was moments away from saying too much, revealing more than he wanted. "I'm going. Get inside before you catch cold," he replied, feeling the tension inside him coiling tighter and tighter the longer he stood there with her.

He turned on his heel and started to walk away, but her hand on his shoulder stopped him. He pulled back as if she had stung him, reeling as quickly away from her touch as he could and still stay upright on the slippery sidewalk. He could not deal with her touching him right now. That just might be the straw that broke his fragile control.

When he turned back he realized that her touch was nothing compared to the look on her face. She was shocked by his response, batting those huge eyes at him widely while biting her lip as if his reaction had hurt her physically.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she shouted when he didn't say anything.

He watched her lips as she spoke the words and his hands clenched into fists so tight his nails were digging into his palms. Everything inside him screamed to just grab her, to kiss her, to make her understand what he was going through. Everything except that voice. That voice that told him over and over again that he was the reason she was standing in the pouring rain looking as if she were about to fall apart any minute. And if he did what he so desperately wanted to do, it wouldn't be the last time she looked like that. This was all he could give her, tears, heartache and pain. It was all he had to give anyone anymore.

It was that thought that gave him the courage to turn and stalk off down the street away from her. He was very glad that this time, she didn't follow him.

* * *

><p>"Annie?"<p>

She turned and blinked through the tears that pooled in her eyes and the rain covering her face.

"I'm here," she called, still not sure exactly who she was answering. The voice was hard to recognize through the rain.

"What are you doing out here? Where's Jeff?" Now she knew it was Pierce edging slowly closer to her position. "Is he out here with you?"

"He left," she answered.

"Oh," he replied as if maybe he suddenly understood what was going on though it was obvious he didn't. He stepped up to where she was leaning against the wall of the bar. The rough bricks scratched her cheek as she turned her face towards him.

"I'll be in in a minute. You shouldn't be out here. You'll get sick."

"So will you be but that doesn't seem to be stopping you from standing out here in the pouring rain for no reason," he replied.

"I have my reasons," she mumbled in what she thought was a voice too low for his elderly ears to hear.

"What reasons are those?" He surprised her when he asked.

"I just need a minute. I'm fine."

"Do you want me to go get Shirley or Britta? Would you rather talk to one of them?" he offered.

She huffed in frustrations and pulled herself off the wall. "I don't want to talk to anyone. I'm fine. I just want to be alone for a minute. Why is that too much to ask?"

He held his hands up defensively and she immediately regretted the outburst. Pierce hadn't done anything to deserve her snapping at him. He wasn't the reason for her rotten mood.

No, this was all typical Jeff. Just when she thought they were getting somewhere, making some progress, he took off like a shot. One step forward and two steps back, that was always the way it was with him. And it was a dance she was growing very tired of.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap." she said quietly.

"It's okay. You're obviously upset. I'm just trying to help. You may not believe this, but you really are my favorite, Annie. I don't like seeing you upset." He told her, showing a rare bit of compassion and she appreciated the effort. "Come inside. We'll get a drink and you can tell me what's bothering."

She nodded and gave him a slow watery smile as she let him lead her back inside the bar.

They ducked inside and he quickly escorted her back to their table while making sure to avoid all of their friends. Annie saw Britta cast them a glance once but, Pierce simply shook his head subtly and waved her off, silently telling her that he had this.

Once they were back at the table, he waved the waitress over, ordered a double shot of whiskey for himself and a Coke for her. When the drinks arrived, he waited for the waitress to leave before subtly pouring one of the shots into her Coke. Annie rolled her eyes.

She wasn't even sure more alcohol was the answer. Her head was still spinning from the drink she'd already had. But she took an obliging sip since he was being so nice. It was a rare thing for him. She didn't want to mess it up by making him think she didn't appreciate it.

"Now, tell me what has you crying in the rain? Who do I need to pound to a pulp?"

She chuckled. "Pierce, you couldn't pound anyone to a pulp if you wanted to."

"Maybe not," he shrugged, "but I can pay someone to do it for me. So, who's kneecaps need busting?"

"It's okay, Godfather. I think we can let them slide this time."

"Let who slide? Who upset you?" he pressed.

She eyed him for a moment. Pierce was the last person in the group she'd normally share anything like this with. He wasn't exactly known for his secret-keeping skills. Jeff would kill her for it. His relationship with Pierce was still shaky at best. In fact, Pierce was the one person he wouldn't want her talking to about him. Maybe that's why she took another drink, cleared her throat and leaned forward in her chair.

"Do you have any idea what's going with Jeff these days?" she asked, easing into the conversation.

His eyebrows rose in surprise. "We aren't really on the best of terms lately. But I know something is bothering him."

"So you've noticed it, too?"

"He's a lot more moody and brooding than normal. It's hard to miss. Is Jeff the reason you're upset? Did he do or say something to you?"

Suddenly her guilty conscious took over and she decided maybe this wasn't a good idea. Jeff would never forgive her for getting Pierce involved in this. "You know what, never mind. It's fine. Everything is fine. There's nothing going on."

Pierce downed his shot before sitting back in his chair and shaking her head. "This is so typical. You know I'm just trying to help. I know something is going on and as usual, I'm the only one out of the loop. Why is it so hard for you people to trust me? Have I ever given any of you a reason not to?"

"Yes," she answered, too quickly.

He shrugged again. "Okay, maybe I have, but I'm trying to change. That should count for something."

"It might if we hadn't been down this road with you so many times before. You're always trying to change, but you never really make it to the end."  
>He leaned forward again and startled her by taking both her hands in his. "Annie, I promise you whatever you say right now will not go any further. I can keep secrets just like the rest of you and I'm pretty good at giving advice, too. Just give me a chance to help."<p>

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, there may be something going on with Jeff and I," she started.

"I knew it!" he exclaimed happily. "Well, I didn't know it, but I should have known it! That sly dog, is he trying to work his way through all the female members of our group? Who's next? Shirley?"

"Pierce!" she nearly shouted.

He quickly recovered his composure and managed to give her a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Sometimes, I say things without thinking."

"You think?" she retorted sarcastically.

He straighten in his chair and his face suddenly took on a serious expression. "Forget I said that. Let's start over. What do you mean there might be something going on between you and Jeff?"

She took another drink before pushing her glass away and starting to get to her feet. "This was a bad idea. I'm sorry I mentioned anything. Just forget everything I said and pretend we never had this conversation."

He grabbed her hand to stop her from leaving. "Don't go. I'll be good I promise. You haven't finished your drink," he said.

She slipped back into her chair and pushed her drink back in front of her. She eyed it for a moment before glancing up at him. "Are you trying to get me drunk on purpose?"

He sat back and put on his best innocent face. "Why would I do that?"

"I don't know, Pierce." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Why would you?"

A movement caught her eye and she looked that direction to find Adam watching her intently. Pierce saw where her eyes had landed and he sighed and muttered a quiet, "Oh boy," under his breath.

"What is going on?" she asked, now looking back at her glass.

"Look, I didn't know anything about the Jeff thing. I was just trying to help." He started trying to explain.

"Help who? What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"Adam and I were talking while you were singing and he told me that he thought if he got you drunk enough he might get to take you home tonight." Pierce told her while staring at his hands.

"So you decided to help him out?"

"I thought it might be good for you. You said you liked him and he obviously likes you. I thought going home with him would be good for you."

"Pierce!" she exclaimed.

"What? It's always been my opinion that you really need to get laid. I did it for you, Annie."

Annie got up from the table, grabbed her glass and flung it into Pierce's face. Then she stomped out of the bar without looking back.


	9. Chapter 9

The last day of classes before the winter break was always a depressing time for Annie. She hated the thought of not seeing her friends for the next three weeks.

Shirley would spend the time with her family. Britta was actually visiting home this year. Troy and Abed were going home as well. She had no idea what Jeff would be doing during the break, probably working at the firm. It was where he spent most of his time away from campus. She knew being away from the world he loved so much was hard on him. He missed it. Taking the job as a consultant had helped with that.

She gathered her books tighter into her chest and started off towards the library, hoping to avoid running into Adam in the process. She wasn't sure what was going on there. Using Pierce to help get her drunk so he could sleep with her hadn't been part of their deal. She didn't know whether to be angry or flattered, but she was leaning heavily towards angry.

"Annie, wait up." She heard a voice call from behind her and she thought about quickening her steps instead of stopping. This was exactly what she'd been hoping to avoid.

But she stopped and waited until Adam was standing at her side.

"So I guess you won't be needing me until classes start again, huh?" he asked as if he'd done nothing wrong and maybe in his mind he hadn't.

"Actually, I don't think I'll be needing you again at all. I think this was a bad idea and it's best to just stop now before anyone finds out," she said, quickly.

He looked a touch stricken for a moment, but he pulled himself together and shrugged. "Does that mean things worked out with that Winger guy?"

"No, nothing worked out. I just think this wasn't a very good idea."

He ran a hand through his dark hair and when he finished his left eye was nearly covered in a veil of bangs. He blinked at her through the curtain and a slow smile covered his full pink lips. "Does that mean you might want to go out some time? My treat. We could catch a movie if you aren't doing anything for the holidays. _It's a Wonderful Life_ is playing downtown."

She blinked at him in surprise. "Are you really asking me out? Like on a real date?"

"Yeah, that's the idea."

She wasn't sure what to say to that. Did she turn him down and sit around for the rest of her life waiting for Jeff to see her as a grown up? Did she say screw Jeff Winger and let herself have a little fun despite him? Could she even do that? Just give up on him like that. _It's a Wonderful Life_ was one of her favorites and she had just been moaning about how she was going to spend the entire holiday by herself.

"That sounds like fun. Yes, I will go to the movies with you," She answered decisively with a curt bob of her head.

"Alright, that's great. I'll pick you up around seven on Friday." He told her.

"On Christmas Eve?" she asked.

"Yeah, is that okay? We could go another time if you want. It's just always been kind of this tradition at my house to watch it on Christmas Eve and this year I can't afford to go home so I thought..."

"No," she swiftly cut him off. "Christmas Eve is fine. I'll see you around seven."

He walked away with a grin and she found herself smiling as well.

"Making Christmas plans with the new boyfriend?" a gruff voice asked as a body moved up behind her.

"Yes, we are. What do you care?" she snapped and painted on her angry face before turning to look at him.

"I don't," Jeff shrugged. "I think it's nice that you won't be alone."

She started walking again and he fell into step with her. "What are you during for the holidays?"

"I'm actually going to visit my mother for a few days. I guess I'll spend the rest of the time at the firm," he replied.

"You're going home for Christmas?" she asked, a little surprised. She knew it had been a while since he'd been to see his mother.

"Yeah, she sent me a card saying she needs to talk to me about something. So I'm going."

"What is it about? Do you know?"

"Last time she got me there to tell me she was getting married. So I'm hoping that's not it this time," he answered.

Annie stopped and turned to him. "It would bother you to hear that your mother was in love and happy?" she asked.

"No, it would bother me to know that she was being taken advantage of once again. You don't know her taste in men like I do. This marriage thing never works out well for her," he explained.

"Well, I hope she really has found someone that makes her happy this time and I hope that you can manage to be happy for her, too."

He tossed her a crooked smile. "Little Annie, always so optimistic," he mused wistfully and Annie instantly wanted to stomp on his toe with the heel of her boot. If he reached out and did his patented head pat she was prepared to slug him.

Thankfully she didn't have to resort to violence. He turned and started walking again without any further comment.

"I was curious," he began when she caught up to him. "Apparently the entire campus has seen you making out over every available surface for the last couple of weeks with this Adam guy."

"So what's your point?" she asked, defensively.

"I was just wondering if the two of you were so close, why did it sound like you were setting up your first date back there? That's a little strange, don't you think?" he asked before stepping into the library and heading for his chair in the study room without a backward glance.

* * *

><p>It hadn't been a very nice thing to do and as he watched her sitting next to him, squirming in her chair every time her eyes landed on him, he felt a little guilty. But not guilty enough to let her off the hook. There was something going on with her and Adam. Something wasn't right there. He'd walked up in time to hear her tell him that whatever they were doing wasn't a good idea. He had every intention of finding out what this bad idea was even if Annie had called the whole thing off.<p>

Their annual Christmas party was finally winding down. Jeff gathered his gifts, stowing his new cellphone cover from Pierce, his box of Christmas cookies from Shirley, the first season of L.A. Law DVDs from Abed and Troy, and a bottle of his favorite cologne from Britta in a brightly colored gift bag. He'd noticed that Annie hadn't gotten him anything, or if she had she hadn't given it to him yet. That was fine. He hadn't given her his gift either. He dug his hand into the front pocket of his jeans and palmed the velvet covered box that rested there. He wasn't even sure he should give her the gift he'd found for her weeks before. Somehow, after the last few days, it didn't feel appropriate. Maybe she was having the same issue with her gift for him.

Maybe he could get away without either of them noticing they had given each other gifts.

"Annie tells me that you're going to visit your mother for Christmas," Shirley said as she glanced at him while covering a plate of snowman shaped cookies with plastic wrap. "I think that's nice."

"Yeah," he shrugged. "I'm betting it won't be, but we'll see."

"You should visit her more often. Denver isn't even that far away. It wouldn't hurt you to take a couple of hours out of your life every once in a while for the woman that gave birth to you," she tweeted at him happily. "After all, we only get one mother. We should cherish them."

His lips quirked up as he did his best to hold his tongue to keep from saying what he really wanted to. "Clearly, you've never met my mother," he muttered.

"Annie said you think she might be getting married again. That will mean you get a new stepfather. That might be nice," she pressed, ignoring his tone.

"Annie talks a lot," he said under his breath. Before she had a chance to continue the conversation, Jeff grabbed his bag and started for the door. "See you all on New's Years Eve at Pierce's place," he called out to the room in general.

He made it out the door and halfway to the exit before he heard her coming up behind him.

"Don't you want my gift?" Annie called to his retreating back.

He stopped abruptly and gave a weary sigh before turning towards her. Apparently he wasn't going to be able to escape after all and he'd been so close.

"You didn't have to get me anything," he began in protest.

"Of course I did. We all got each other gifts. Why wouldn't I have gotten something for you?"

She was holding a large box out in front of her. He had no idea how he'd missed it earlier. Where had she hidden that?

"It's okay if you didn't get me anything. You already got me the tree. That's more than enough." She was saying.

He reached into his pocket and withdrew the small box. "Of course I got you something. I wouldn't have forgotten you."

She shrugged sheepishly. "I didn't think you'd forgotten. I just thought, you know, we already did the Christmas thing. I just got you this to say thanks for the tree and the party."

He took the box from her hands and gave her the smaller box in exchange. Her eyes lite up as she stared at it.  
>"Should we open them now?" she asked, "Or would you rather wait and open them later, you know, when we're alone?"<p>

He couldn't help the smirk. "Open the box, Annie."

He set his gift bag down at his feet and began peeling the paper from her gift. What emerged was a dark brown leather briefcase with his initials engraved on a gold plate between the locks.

"This is great, Annie. I've been needing to replace mine for a while now. I love it," he said, sincerely. When she didn't answer he looked up and found her staring with wide watery eyes at the opened jewelry box in her hand. "It's nothing, really." He told her, trying to ward off the water works before they really got going.

"It's beautiful," she sighed dreamily.

"Its just a bracelet," he shrugged.

She snatched the silver chain out of the container and tossed the empty box into her pocket while holding the piece of jewelry up to examine it closer. The charms hanging from the chain sparkled in the light from a nearby window. "This is the nicest thing anyone's gotten me in a long, long time."

"Don't go doing all that. I just saw it and it reminded me of you," again, he said still trying to diffuse the moment.

"You picked out all these charms just for me. There's a musical note, because you know I like music. There's a scrabble tile with an 'A', a unicorn, a book," she paused and looked up at him, "I'm not sure I understand the guitar or the gun," she admitted.

He shrugged again. "You remember kicking my ass when we played guitar hero with Abed and Troy and the gun is for paintball."

Her eyes sparkled as a smile took over her face. "It's perfect. I love it."

He stepped up and took it from her fingers. Then he took her hand in his and fastened it around her wrist. "I'm glad you like it."

"I'm glad you like yours, too." She grinned and he could have sworn he caught her batting her eyes at him.

Stepping back, he let her hand go and grabbed his bag from the floor. "I'll see you on New Year's Eve, Annie. Have a happy holiday." He told her before turning and walking away.

* * *

><p>She'd been up all night, which was ridiculous. She knew it. Especially considering that she could almost guarantee he wasn't experience the same thing.<p>

No, she would almost bet that Jeff Winger was snuggled down in his black satin sheets currently dreaming of leggy blonds with big racks. She couldn't imagine that he would ever loss a wink of sleep on her account.

Annie tossed back her pink comforter with an exasperated huff and sat up on the side of the bed. Laying there, tossing and turning, huffing and sighing was getting her nowhere, except perhaps more upset. She was getting extraordinarily tired of being upset by Jeff.

This wasn't how this was supposed to work. Being in love was supposed to mean things were easier, not harder. So far, nothing had been easier. She felt confused, tangled up in knots and completely unsure of herself all the time and she hated it.

Maybe walking away was her best option. Maybe she should forget about Jeff and concentrate on her upcoming, 'real' date with Adam. She wished she could get her brain to cooperate with that plan.

Her eyes fell to the table beside her bed and she reached out to take the silver bracelet between her fingers. It really was one of the most thoughtful gifts she'd ever received. The intimacy of it struck her and suddenly there was no Adam. This Jeff, the Jeff that went into a jewelry store and specifically, purposefully picked out each charm on the bracelet to fit her, that was the Jeff that she was in love with. That was the Jeff she couldn't just give up on. And he could talk all he wanted about how there was nothing between them, about how they were just friends, but this bracelet told a different story. Especially considering everyone else in the group had received impersonal gift cards as their gifts.

No, she wasn't ready to give up on Jeff Winger just yet. There was too much potential for something truly great there.

Deciding that sleep just wasn't in the cards for her, she got to her feet and slipped on a pair of slippers shaped like bunnies before making her way to the kitchen for a glass of water.

She blinked rapidly when the light inside the refrigerator snapped on with the opening of the door. Once her eyes adjusted, she reached in and pulled out a bottle of water before shutting the door and casting the room back into darkness.

Normally she wasn't that fond of the dark, but somehow tonight it seemed appropriate for her mood.

"Couldn't sleep?" A voice asked from under a bundle of blankets in the recliner.

Annie jumped at the sound before realizing where it was coming from, then she sighed and smiled towards the pile. "I guess I'm a little too wound up."

Abed sat up, pushing the multitude of blankets aside with the movement. "Wound up about what?"

She shrugged as she joined him, taking up Troy's usual spot in the other recliner. "The holidays, school being over, I don't know."

"Jeff?"

"Jeff? What makes you think I'm wound up over Jeff?" she asked defensively. She thought she was doing a good job of hiding all this from her friends.

"I saw the gift he gave you and the other night at Karaoke when you sang with him. I just figured something is going on," he answered.

"We're friends. That's all," she replied.

"Really? Because I'm friends with Jeff, too and all I got for Christmas was a gift card. You know you can talk to me, right? I'm actually a really good listener, or so I've been told."

She hesitated after her failed attempt to talk to Pierce about Jeff. That had ended so badly she wasn't sure she wanted to try again. But Abed was different and maybe talking about it would help. "There might be something going on, but I don't know what."

"You like him. He likes you. I don't see the problem." Abed intoned.

"You think he likes me?" she asked, surprised but hopeful. Abed saw things that most people didn't.

"Of course he likes you, Annie."

"How do you know? Did he say something to you?"

"He didn't have to. I can see it," he answered.

"See what, Abed? Please tell me because I'm going nuts over all this. One minute he's kissing me and the next he's telling me I'm a swell kid. I just don't know what I'm doing."

"You make him nuts, too," he said. "Jeff doesn't know what he's doing either. Part of him likes you and another part of him hates himself for it."

"Why? Why would he hate himself because he likes me? Am I so awful?" She was close to crying now and she batted at her eyes to fight the tears off.

"No, it's not that. You aren't awful. He doesn't think he's good enough for you. It's a classic storyline. The hero thinks he can't have the girl because he doesn't deserve her."

"How can I make him see that that isn't true?" she asked, sitting up a little further.

"Well, he could save you from something. That usually works. Then he'll feel worthy of you. Or he could discover that you really need him because of some tragedy. That's a good one, but it's been done."

"Abed! This isn't a television show. This is my life. I need to know what to do. I can't keep going like this. It's driving me crazy."

Abed stopped and turned his dark eyes on her. "You more than like him, huh?"

She nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I more than like him."

"I think he more than likes you, too." Abed nodded back at her.

"You think?" she asked, hopefully. He nodded again in response. "Okay, then what do I do about it?"

He was quiet for a while, just sitting there surrounded by a pile of blankets and staring off into space. "What's with this Adam guy? I'm having trouble figuring out how he fits in all this."

She sighed tiredly. "Adam was a mistake. I thought maybe if Jeff saw me in an adult relationship he might see me as an adult. I know it was stupid."

"Maybe, maybe not." Abed announced suddenly. "Maybe if Jeff was jealous, it could push him into making a move that normally he might not make."  
>"That sounds like a fine plan except that Jeff isn't jealous of Adam. Not even a little bit. Believe me I've been trying that for over two weeks now," she answered, defeated.<p>

"It isn't working because Jeff is still trying to convince himself that Adam is the better option for you. But maybe if Jeff found out he isn't the better man, he would have to step in and do something about it. He wouldn't be able to resist the urge to protect you." Abed told her in a rambling, far away voice that said he could see the scene playing out in his mind.

"So I need to make Adam seem like a bad guy?" Annie asked, intrigued by this new scenario.

"No, I think it would be better if Jeff saw it for himself. Does Adam know he's just a pawn in your plans?"

Annie crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out her chin. "Of course he knows what's going on. I wouldn't play with someone's emotions like that."

"When are you seeing him next?" he asked, completely ignoring her righteous indignation.

"Christmas eve, but it isn't part of our deal. He asked me out after I told him I wanted to stop using him."

"Okay, so on Christmas eve you should talk to him. Get him to take you to Pierce's New Year's party and get him to treat you like a jerk. Jeff will be there. He'll see it and he won't be able to keep from saving you from your date." Abed surmised.

"And you think it will all work out, just like that?" she asked, doubtfully.

"Yes," he answered definitively. Then he paused. "Well, maybe."

Annie sighed. "I guess maybe is as good as I'm going to get. I'll talk to Adam."


	10. Chapter 10

The spirit of Christmas hated her.

It was the only conclusion Annie could come up with that might explain what she was doing standing in her living room after having spent three hours doing everything from painting her toes to curling her hair, getting ready for a date that obviously wasn't happening.

She checked the gold watch on her wrist again, the one that Britta had given her for Christmas and sighed dejectedly.

_An hour late_ _means you've been stood up_, Annie told herself even if her self didn't want to hear it. And she had just applied a fresh coat of lipstick. What did the movie _Pretty in Pink_ call that again? Oh, that's right, _wishful makeuping_.

Well, at least now she wouldn't have to talk to Adam. He was doing a fine job of being an asshole on his own without her encouragement. She'd already called his cell numerous times and gotten no answer. So he'd stood her up and he was ducking her calls, too. He didn't even have the courtesy to answer the phone and tell her he wasn't coming. Who does that?

As she slumped down on the broken down, orange and brown patterned, loveseat she sighed again and wondered what the hell she was supposed to do now?

Abed and Troy had both gone to their families already. Jeff was with his mother, Britta and Shirley were with their families one in Detroit, the other New York. Everyone had some place to be, somewhere they belonged, somewhere to call home. And she was all alone on Christmas Eve.

Good little Jewish girls aren't supposed to care about things like that. But damn it! being Jewish didn't define her. She cared. You weren't supposed to be alone on Christmas whether you actually celebrated it or not.

She was too young to be so all alone.

She grabbed her phone again and determinedly pushed in the set of numbers she promised herself she would never use. But this was Christmas and it had been nearly two years since she'd spoken to either of them. Surely they missed her, too. Surely they hadn't really meant it when they told her she was on her own now when they dropped her off at Rehab and turned their backs on her. She was their daughter. They couldn't have just forgotten about her.

"Hi!" her mother's voice came through the voice and Annie's heart leaped into her chest for a moment before she realized that it was a recording. "We're so happy you called but right now we're spending the holidays with our son in San Francisco celebrating his new residency. Leave us a message and we'll get back to you."

"He isn't actually your son," she muttered to the phone bitterly before tossing it to the cushion beside her and fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall.

She'd never told anyone about Leland, her adoptive brother - her perfect, adoptive brother, the doctor. Her parents had been told before she was born that they would never be able to have children of their own. Hence, Leland. He was six years older than Annie. Her parents had him for four years before they found themselves pregnant with a second child that they never really wanted. Leland had been enough for them. He was still enough for him after she came along. She'd always felt like Ferris Bueller's sister growing up, or Jan Brady. It was always, Leland got an A. Why can't you be more like Leland, Annie? Or Leland can do band, football and keep his grades up, Annie. Why can't you? If you could just apply yourself like Leland, if you could just manage your time better like Leland, if you could be as smart as Leland.

And what had she done? She'd crashed and burned trying to keep up with her parents expectations and the high bar set by her 'brother'. And the thing that really pissed her off, the thing that she'd never told anyone, ever, was that the little bastard was a first class con artist.

He paid other kids to do his homework. He did that by bullying all the smaller kids. He and his friends had actually tied one kid to the flagpole at school once and raised him into the air. The poor thing was suspended there nearly half a class before one of the teachers saw him flailing around and got him down. He was horrible to Annie when no one was looking, name calling, mocking, pushing her down, taking away her toys.

But Leland was smart. He was smart enough that he never got caught.

The tears were coming full throttle now as she dredged up her past in vivid detail. She remembered the year her parents had forgotten her birthday. It took them a week to realize their mistake. But that was the year of Leland's Bar Mitzvah so they were so busy dealing with him, they didn't have a thought to spare for their sad little disappointment of a daughter who was just so ordinary and mediocre in their eyes. She was nine, at the time.

But then it was always like that. Every time she needed her parents something came up that took their attention away from her and usually that something was Leland. He planned it that way. On her own Bat Mitzvah, Leland had gotten chicken pox. Annie was certain, to this day, that he'd exposed himself on purpose just to make sure the attention stayed on him.

She sat there like that for a long while, tears coming in racking sobs while in the corner of the room the cheerful lights of the Christmas tree blinked at her in mock merriment.

She was just blowing her noise for the hundredth time in the last hour when her phone chirped and her heart jumped in response. Somehow, despite everything, a little piece of her really hoped her mother had seen her number on her caller I.D. and was returning her call.

When she snatched the device up she saw that she was wrong, of course. "Hello," she answered, trying to muster some cheer into her voice.

"Merry Christmas!" Britta said. "I was just calling to check on you. You are going somewhere, right?"

Annie sat up a little straighter. "Why would I be going somewhere?"

"Haven't you seen the news, Annie? There's a blizzard coming your way."

"A blizzard? It wasn't even snowing last time I looked," Annie replied, straightening the full skirt of her black velvet dress as she got up and went to the window. "Oh wow!" was all she could think to say as she took in the view.

The snow was blanketing the cityscape at an alarming rate, covering every surface in a white powder. A pinkish haze clouded the sky and through it she could see the wind blowing the flakes furiously through the air.

"I don't want you there by yourself. Isn't there anywhere you can go and wait this thing out?" Britta was saying.

Annie thought about that for a minute. "I guess I could call Pierce. Everyone else is gone."

"Let me make a call. You call Pierce and see if he's still in town."

She'd barely hung up the phone when a loud, whining noise of something metal not doing what it was supposed to came from the direction of her radiator.

"Oh no!" she cried, looking towards the offending piece of machinery. "You can not stop working!"

It whined again as if answering her pleas with a sarcastic retort.

She tried Pierce's number and was about to give up when his voice suddenly came on the line.

"Merry Christmas, Annie," he answered happily.

"Merry Christmas, Pierce. I hate to bother you, but are you in town?"

"I left this morning. I'm in Seattle visiting our factory here. Good thing I got out when I did. That storm hitting you is all over the news. I hope you found some place warm to snuggle down in for the next few days. They say this one will be one for the books."

Annie cast her eyes towards the heater again and had a sudden picture of her bundled up under a mountain of blankets frozen to death. "I'll be fine," she replied, closing her eyes against the image. "I'll see you on New Year's eve."

"Alright. You stay warm."

She just hung up when the phone was ringing again. "Annie? Are you still at home?" Troy asked as soon as she answered.

"Of course I'm still here. Where else would I be?" she answered and immediately regretted the snap in her tone.

"Have you seen the news?" was his next question and she tried not to snap when she said, yes, she knew about the storm.

"I'm coming home. If I hurry I'll be able to get back there before it gets too bad, maybe."

"And if not you'll be stuck between there and here and you'll miss your visit with your family. No, you stay where you are. No sense in both of us being stuck here," she reasoned.

"But you're all alone and I don't think anyone has gone to the store. You don't even have any food there."

"I have everything I need," she lied and was surprised by how convincing she made it sound. "Go enjoy your family. I'll be fine."

She stood there staring out at the vast whiteness from her window for a long, long while wondering what the hell she was going to do. Troy was right. No one had gone to the store in a few days. There certainly wasn't enough food in the house to sustain her until it was safe to go out again. She didn't drive in the snow and ice and the store was far too many blocks away to make walking, especially in this, an option.

Maybe she wouldn't freeze to death. Maybe she'd starve instead.

Yep, now it really was official. The Spirit of Christmas hated her.

The radiator had long since given one final cry of displeasure before it shuddered to its inevitable death. Annie had known it was coming. She'd been expecting it since it let out the first painful cry. It's passing was tearful, even so.

She was finding tears were one thing she had plenty of tonight. It might be the only thing she had plenty of. A survey of the kitchen proved worse than she'd expected and the chill was already nipping at her nose now that there was nothing to fight it off. The snow outside was still coming hard and fast and it showed no sign of running out of steam anytime soon. And to make matter worse, she couldn't seem to get through to anyone on her phone.  
>The last person she'd talked to, before the call was dropped never to be picked up again, was Britta and her final words were of encouragement. She'd told Annie not to worry, that help was on its way, whatever that meant.<br>So far, it was approaching midnight and help was still nowhere to be seen.

She had eventually curled up in Abed's recliner with the throw from the loveseat wrapped around her and the weather channel offering its quiet chatter from the television in front of her and scaring her more than anything as she watched the splash of pink on the tiny little radar map cover Glendale completely. The tree lights still blinked at her. She hadn't bothered to change out of her dress and the tight fit of the strapless bodice felt confining. Her eyes hurt from all the crying and her nose was sore from all the blowing. Through the corner of her eye she could see the snow still falling rapidly outside the window. The radiator, now a useless piece of metal under that window, seemed to be smiling at her maniacally. It felt as if the empty refrigerator in the kitchen that sat in the shadows beyond the living room laughed at her every time she glanced away from the television. The useless cellphone didn't bother her as bad as everything else, there was no one for her to call anyway so the fact that she couldn't make a call was okay. It was the fact that there was no one TO call that made the tears start all over again.

She'd always felt so alone. Her entire life had been one long moment of solitude. Now that she had friends and roommates she thought she would never have to feel so lonely again. She'd been wrong. Troy and Britta seemed concerned but they hadn't need much convincing to make them believe she was okay. Abed hadn't even bothered to check on her, neither had Shirley. But what really hurt was that Jeff hadn't called either. She hadn't heard a word from him since the Christmas party at school and she was certain she was the last thing on his mind.

The universe itself was having a grand time with her tonight. Was this some kind of Karma coming back to bit her on the ass? She didn't remember ever having done anything bad enough to deserve the kind of punishment she was currently enduring.

She had just picked up the television remote, determined to find something on to cheer her up when she heard the knock on her door.

Curious, she got up, smoothed her dress again and went to answer it.

Standing there on her other side, with two overflowing paper grocery bags in his hands and two more plastic ones hanging from his wrist was her knight in shining armor, beaming a smile at her.


	11. Chapter 11

He'd been trying to get to her all night. It was the only thing he could think about. The visit to his mother had lasted only long enough for him to meet the new, soon-to-be, Mr. Douche Bag. He'd been right. She was planning on getting married again and again the guy was exactly like all the others had been. Tall, swarmy, thick mustache, not much older than. This one was the manager at a local fast food restaurant. In retrospect, at least this one DID have a job.

This would his mother's fifth marriage and truly if you lined them all up, it would be difficult to tell them apart. Jeff had almost come to blows once with her third husband, Don when they'd met on the street and Jeff had accidentally mistaken him for her second husband, Mike. But Hell, it wasn't his fault. They should come equipped with name tags.

He really wished there was something he could do, some way to talk her out of this before the inevitable happened. But that was a road they'd been down so many times, he'd given up the fight. He could already see the scene six months from now playing out when he'd make the trip back to Denver and throw this one out like he'd done all the others.

As he sat in his old room, surrounded by his memories of high school (which he'd barely graduated from) and Little League (where he'd meticulously kept the bench warm for three straight years) and Eagle Scouts (which he'd quit after the first camp out) he thought about all the wasted opportunities of his life and decided that wasn't a place he really wanted to go to.

So he turned his attention towards his mother and her new fiance instead. What would this one do to fuck it all up? Would he cheat, like husbands one and three? Would he steal all her money and run off with a girl half her age like two had done? Or maybe he'd be a real winner, and Jeff would have to pick her up from the hospital before coming here to get rid of him, like husband number four.

He'd only been here for a few hours now, but he couldn't manage to keep those kind of thoughts from running through his head every time he looked at his soon-to-be stepfather. It wasn't exactly how he wanted to spend his Christmas. He'd rather be alone.

The only other thing occupying his mind, and taking it over rather spectacularly at that, was Annie and her date. Something was going on there, something he was pretty sure he wouldn't like. He really hoped Adam wouldn't turn out to need 'dealing with'. Jeff wasn't a fighter. He'd never really been in a fight in his life, but suddenly he found himself sizing up just about every man he can across, first Adam, now this Tony guy.

Maybe Jeff actually was a fighter, and like everything in his life, he'd just never applied himself.

He flipped on the tiny little 15inch television that sat on the corner of his Wal-Mart special, put-it-together yourself clapboard desk and wondered if he could come up with some excuse to leave early, like tonight. It would have to be something good. He didn't want his mother to think he didn't want to spend time with her. That would just lead to a scene and he didn't want to deal with a scene. He just wanted to leave, and the sooner the better. He should have known better than to come here. Coming here was always a disaster that left him feeling trapped with nothing to do but contemplate the life he could have had, if only...

He really, really hated - if only. Hindsight was not his friend. Retrospect was evil.

He had never been really good at anything in his life. He was capable of it, of course. He knew that. But being really good made people expect really good. He didn't like expectations. He didn't want people to see his potential. In fact he spent a great deal of his time hiding any potential he felt he might possess. But the one thing he was good at, apparently, was picking his mother up and dusting her off. It was his lot in life, his calling. He was his mother's keeper. He didn't always want to be. Far more times than not he wanted to just ignore the calls that used to come in the middle of the night for him to come riding to her rescue. But he never did. He couldn't. She was his mother. The calls hadn't come in a while now. Not since the night he'd picked up her bruised, battered body up from the emergency room and called the police to get rid of husband number four. That night he'd exploded at her, vigorously and viciously, about how she let herself be used and abused by man after man. He'd told her that night that he wouldn't come running home to save her again. It was a lie, of course. But apparently it was a good one because she hadn't turned on her bat signal for him since.

He was just settling back on the squeaky mattress of his twin-size, innocuous blue comforter covered bed when he noticed the scene playing out on the tiny T.V. screen. Getting up again, he raised the volume and stood there listening for all of two seconds. He'd heard all he needed to hear. His brain was quickly filling in the rest.

The weatherman supplied him with Glendale and Blizzard. His brain provided Annie and Alone.

Those were the high points. Nothing else mattered.

With a quick, abbreviated goodbye to his mother and her new squeeze, he was back in his car, barreling down the interstate just as full dark was setting in.

The slickness of the road under his tires was troubling but not near as troubling as the constant ringing of his phone. First Britta telling him all about how Annie was at home alone and the storm was closing in. Then Troy with the news that she probably didn't have any food there with her and no way of getting to any. Then Abed with the same thing only he'd added that he'd been trying to call and wasn't getting an answer. Shirley was next repeating everything he'd just heard from Abed. And finally Pierce saying he'd just talked to her and she sounded upset. At that, Jeff had tried several times to get through to her, begging his car over and over to dial her number only to be told the lines were busy and he should try back later.

That had been his downfall. Throwing caution to the wind, he'd abandoned his hands-free device for his phone, scoped it up and tried to dial her number himself. It was still trying to get through when he'd hit a patch of ice that he hadn't seen through the deluge of white pummeling his windshield, despite the wipers working at full blast and he suddenly found himself in a full on tailspin.

Trying to right the car wasn't working. As hard as he fought against the steering wheel, it seemed to have a mind of its own and there was nothing he could do except pump the brakes and pray.

Someone up there was listening because a moment later he found himself sitting still on the side of the road against a bank of snow, not too worse for wear. He'd bumped his knee into the door during the struggle and it throbbed painfully but other than that, it seemed he was okay and so was his car.

He didn't even have to turn around. Somehow, he ended up still pointing in the right direction. It was just a miracle the interstate was more or less clear because of the weather. Had it not been, the story might have had a very different ending.

He took a moment to pull himself together before experimentally giving the steering wheel a turn to make sure all was right. When it didn't turn like it should, he let out a string of cuss words, yanked his coat tighter around himself and shoved his hands into a pair of leather gloves he'd discarded on the empty seat beside him.

Outside the car the snow pelted his bare cheeks with a miserable force and the bite in the air he drew into his lungs nearly stole his breath with its bitterness. The assessment of the car didn't take long. His rear driver's side tire was flat and the headlight on the passenger side was out. Other than that, the car seemed okay.

A few cars whipped past him as he went as swiftly as possible about changing the tire, all the while thinking about how much more difficult the drive to Annie's was going to be with a donut there instead of a real tire.

This trip was becoming treacherous and he really hoped his damsel in distress appreciated all the trouble he was going through. Though really he had no doubt that she would. Annie always appreciated it when someone made an effort for her, more than most people did, actually. He wondered why that was as he braced his feet apart and worked to removed the lug nuts holding the useless tire in place. He had a sinking feeling it was because people didn't often make an effort for her. The way she gushed and went on and on over any little amount of attention paid to her made his chest hurt just a bit. He hated that it wasn't something she was accustomed to. Having people notice her should be something she was used to. Annie was amazing and it amazed him that everyone else didn't see it, too.

By the time he got back on the road, he had already determined that things were going to change where Annie was concerned. She was going to become accustom to people noticing her, even if the only person that did, was himself. He wanted to see to it that she felt every bit as special as she was. And really, he thought to himself as he moved as quickly as he dared down the interstate once again, how could he leave that all important job in anyone else's hands?

This Adam kid wasn't good enough for her. No one would be. Annie needed someone that saw everything about her that made her extraordinary. And she was. She was possibly the most extraordinary woman he'd ever met.

There was a drive in Annie, a spark of fire that made her stand out from the rest. She was a fighter. God, how he loved to see her fighting. Any opposition, no matter how big or how small lit her up with an inner glow that out shined the Sun.

Her bright, idealistic eyes carried a weight well beyond her few years. In many ways, she was older than he was. She was certainly wiser. And she saw things with those wide, sapphire eyes that escaped him, subtle things that most people didn't consider to be important, little nuances in the world around her. He didn't think he'd ever meet anyone as deep, as soulful as Annie. She cared, really, truly cared about things most people said they believed in but really didn't.

Once she figured out how she wanted to go about it, his Annie was going to save the World. She'd at least contribute to its saving in whatever way she chose. She was strong, driven and intelligent enough to make things happen that most people only dreamed about.

And while he was hurrying through the crowded grocery store, filling his wobbly wheeled cart with the items that would sustain them through the coming storm, he realized that he wanted to be there to see it happen.

Maybe, if he worked at it, he might even be able to help her do it.

It was an epiphany for him. Jeff Winger, consummate slacker and avoider of anything difficult, wanted to work at something. And that something was being the kind of man that could stand proudly next to a woman like Annie and feel he was worthy of being there.

And if for once, just for once, he let himself be all he could be, followed through with something, believed in something, he might just be the man that helped her stand instead of the villain he'd always seen himself as. The one that held her back. He wouldn't let that happen. He'd make sure of it. He could be the man beside her without being the one that destroyed her. He had it in him. He knew it.

Jeff was capable of far more than he ever wanted anyone to know he was. If that got out people would start expecting more from him than he was willing to give.

But that was the old Jeff.

The new Jeff was ready to step up and show the world what he was made of. He was ready to go out and work for what he wanted. And right then, more than anything else in the world – he wanted Annie.


	12. Chapter 12

The first thing Jeff noticed was the dress, black velvet with a gold leaf pattern cutting a swath down the skirt starting at one hip and ending at the opposite hem, form-fitting, strapless bodice, full skirt that swayed around her shapely knees invitingly. It was a great dress and so very Annie. Her hair covered her bare, alabaster shoulders in loose curls that he wanted nothing more than to run his fingers through to see if they were as soft as they looked. Her feet were bare, and instead of taking away from the look, her tiny, red toenails, sunk into the plushness of the beige carpet as she flexed her toes, only added to the overall beauty of her. A single strand of pearls circled her neck, laying against the sharpness of her collarbone and two pearl studs seemed to wink at him as she moved her head and displaced her hair. Her only other adornments were a gold watch which loosely hung on her petite wrist making it look even more dainty, and her charm bracelet, his bracelet, hanging on the other.

The affect of it all was almost ruined when he looked into her face and saw the signs of the night she'd been through. Swollen, red-rimmed eyes, complete with smeared mascara, said she'd been crying, and a lot from the look of it and her little, normally adorable, button-nose was red and puffy from the sniffles that always accompanied the tears. Her lips, though, were still exactly like he'd imagined they'd started out the night as, pretty lined and a brilliant, glistening, ruby red that was perfect for her complexion and made them look even fuller, even more pouty and entrancing.

Her lips always got him, always made him want to pull her in and taste them. They were the most unbelievably sexy lips he'd ever seen.

Still, her eyes nearly broke his heart. "Annie," he whispered as he took her in, drinking the sight of her up like he was dying of thirst and she was the only source of water left on the planet.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, holding the door opened for him and reaching out to take one of his bags.

He waved her attempt away and went to the kitchen to relieve himself of his burden without her help.

"I heard about the storm and I knew you were here alone." He cut his eyes towards the bags and shrugged. "Troy said you didn't have any food."

"I didn't," she mumbled, still standing at the now closed door and watching him carefully.

He shifted uncomfortably and let his eyes dance around the room, looking anywhere but at her because seeing her, the way she looked, all he wanted was to take her in his arms. "I didn't want you to be alone," he finally said for lack of anything better and it seemed crazy that when words were normally his best friend, they had suddenly abandoned him.

"That's very nice of you," she smiled, but he only caught it out of the corner of his eyes because he still didn't fully trust himself to look at her again. "But I thought you were at your Mother's."

He turned to the bags and made himself busy with getting them unpacked and putting the groceries away. "I was, but I came home as soon as I heard."

She was walking towards him, coming to give him a hand, but his words stopped her short and she stood there, halfway between the door and him, and stared for a long moment. "You came all the way home just for me?"

He found her with his gaze, unable to fight himself any longer. "Yeah," he managed around a sudden lump that had grown in his throat when her eyes grabbed his.

"Why?" she asked, her voice little more than a whisper and sounding so fragile, so breakable, he abandoned what he was doing and took a step towards her.

"Like I said, I didn't want you to be alone."

"Oh," was her only response and he thought he saw tears welling in her eyes again, so he retreated, not wanting to make her cry any more than she already had, and went back to his task.

He started to shrug out of his coat and the minute it came away from his shoulders he noticed the coldness of the air and tugged it back into place. Then he turned back to her, still standing there watching him like she had no idea what else to do and the bareness of her shoulders hit him. "Why is it so cold in here?" he wanted to know.

She glanced towards the window and her mouth turned down in a frown. "The radiator died."

"You don't have any heat?"

"Well, no, I guess not." she uttered, dejectedly. She had her hands at her waist and was using her thumb to play with the red polish on her nails, ruining her manicure. It was a habit he'd seen before, one she did when she was nervous or embarrassed about something.

"You told everyone you were okay," he accused her. "You lied?"

"I didn't want anyone to worry. There wasn't anything they could have done anyway and how do you know what I told everyone?"

"They called me. All of them, one right after another. Everyone was worried about you whether you wanted them to be or not." He told her, not meaning for his tone to be so sharp but the worry for her welfare had overcome his need to touch her and suddenly it was all he could think about. "Not that I don't love the dress, it's beautiful, really. But why haven't you changed into something warmer? Annie, you're going to freeze to death."

"I had a date." She voice faltered over the word 'date' and the tears were there all over again.

He stopped with the groceries again and this time he went to her, coming close enough that barely a hair's breath separated them. "What happened?"

Suddenly her face broke completely and she stepped into him giving him no other choice than to put his arms around her and draw her closer. "He never showed and I tried to call but he didn't answer. Then I called my parents and they didn't answer and I thought no one cared that I was here all alone and the heater broke and I didn't have any food." She was babbling now, her voice muffled by his coat but nonetheless understandable. She stopped her lament and looked up at him with fire in her eyes suddenly and her voice was strong and vehement when she gritted her teeth and said, "I hate Christmas!"

He just couldn't help the laughter that followed that and it wasn't long before she joined him redirecting all the energy of her despair into the amusement of the moment.

"It's okay," he said, once the merriment resolved itself on its own accord. "Let's get you something warm to wear and I'll make us something to eat."

She nodded, still with the faintest trace of a smile on her lips and he just plain could not keep himself from closing the mere few inches that separated her face from his and kissing her.

Once his lips meet hers, it was over.

She pushed him away before he had a chance to deepen the kiss further and blinked up at him. "If you're going to push me away again. Stop this now. I can't take it tonight." She shook her head sadly and glanced over his shoulder for an instant before finding his eyes again. "Not tonight."

He stepped into her again and tightened his hold at the same time, making a decision he hadn't realized he was ready to make until he saw her like she was now. "I'm not pushing you away, Annie. Not tonight. Not ever again."

She sank her tiny body into his and the neediness of the move was his undoing. It was either that or perhaps the vulnerability in her voice when she pulled away, looked into his eyes and his name choked out from between those perfect lips.

There was no stopping him now from taking what he'd wanted from the minute she'd opened the door and he drew her in further with a hand against the small of her back, marveling all the while at how it seemed to cover her completely.

Her hands, trapped between their bodies, struggled, trying to figure out where to go before they flattened to his chest, then balled into fists in his coat when his tongue delved between her lips and brushed over the roof of her mouth.

Before he knew what was happening, she was tugging the coat aside, pulling it from his shoulders and he let her go long enough for it to fall to the floor. He didn't need it now. Her hands were back on his chest and they alone did more to warm him than the heater could ever accomplish.

They were suddenly moving backwards and he realized that he was the one propelling them. He had no idea where until he noticed the loveseat and his brain caught up to his subconscious and he knew the destination he had in mind.

Once there, he sank down into it and pulled her along, dragging her into his lap with the motion.

One of her arms was around him, her hand burying itself into his hair, while the other hand worked at the buttons on his shirt. He glanced down long enough to put the visual of that into his brain, her dainty red-tipped fingernails pushing and pulling at the buttons and parting the gray material as she went along.

He dropped his head to the back of the couch, and clenched his eyes closed to enjoy the feel of her fingers brushing down the center of his chest. Then he sat forward when he felt a tug on the material and helped her pull the shirt from his pants and push it off his shoulders.

His eyes were opened now, fixated, hypnotized by the sight of those nails running through the hair that splattered over his pecs. The paleness of her ivory hand against the flush on his own skin was enough of a contrast to have him mesmerized.

He'd never really paid attention to things like that before. The visuals of sex had never been that important to him. Now he couldn't seem to drag his eyes away. The beauty of it all was mind blowing, overpowering and almost more passion-inspiring than the feel of her lips.

He thought that until she leaned in and covered his mouth with hers again. Then he knew he was wrong. Nothing was more passion-inspiring than the feel of her lips.

Those lips were now following the line of his jaw and he realized, all at once, that somehow Annie, his little, innocent, naive Annie was taking control over this thing happening between them and he wasn't sure that was okay with him. A part of him wanted to just sit back and let her do whatever she wanted to do to him. She seemed to be doing fine on her own. But his ego, the part of him that just could not wait to see her needy and wanton, wrapped around him with desperation in those huge eyes and his name falling from her lips, was fighting him. It had every right. That was the part of him he'd been fighting against for so long where she was concerned. It deserved it's just dues for it's patience.

His hand brushed across the zipper on the back of her dress and suddenly he just had to get all that material, as soft as it was, out of his way. He imagined the skin it was hiding from him would be even softer.

He was right and he felt his hand trembling as his knuckles grazed down her spine while lowering the zipper. Her lips stopped their assault of his earlobe and she gave a shudder and a groan when he pulled at the dress, dragging it away from her and revealing the strapless, black lace bra underneath.

He sat back into the cushions, taking in the sight of it. That was the bra's purpose. Whatever Annie's expectation of her date that night were, part of them included having someone see that bra. It was a bra that was meant to be seen and her breasts, so full and pale and straining against the material as she drew in ragged breaths, deserved the attention they were getting. Again the visual of it set him on fire. He didn't think he'd ever appreciate lingerie that much before.

She sat there, perched on his lap, watching him looking at her for long enough she started to squirm. Then she gave a little laugh, bringing his focus back on her and pulling his eyes away from the garment. "What?" she giggled, nervously.

"I'm not sure I like that you were going to wear that on your date. What if he had shown up?" he confessed without even knowing the thoughts were in his head before he spoke them out loud. Now the jealousy was burning a hole in his chest and just the thought of Adam being in his current position stirred his blood to boiling.

She reached up and smoothed a hand through his hair before bringing it to rest on his cheek. Cupping his jaw in her palm she leaned into him, flattening those beautiful breasts against his chest and whispered, "He was just a substitute for you. I never wanted him like I want you. It's always been you, always will be."

His hands, which had fallen to her waist, clenched. It was exactly what he wanted to hear, needed to hear. It empowered him, unleashed the passion that was building to a frenzy in his blood and he scooped her up, emboldened by it and lifted them both from the sofa.

He didn't want to do this on a broken down, ugly loveseat in her living room. He wanted space, room to move.

As he propelled them along his mind suddenly went back to the night he'd carried her to bed and all the things he'd been thinking as he cradled her to his chest then. He'd felt dirty, unworthy, he remembered. But now, here he was, carrying her again and this time it was her with her legs wrapped around his waist and her hands buried in his hair and there was nothing impure or disgusting about it. Her legs locked at the ankles around his thighs, her fingers brushing across the nape of his neck, her breath at his ear, the moisture of her kiss on the column of his throat, all of it felt right, perfect, in fact and he had never felt like that before.

By the time they got to her room, he was beyond thinking, beyond reason and she was the cause. She'd spent the entire journey teasing him without meaning to. But everything about her was driving him insane. The scent of vanilla in her hair, the feel of her thighs hugging his waist, the look in her eyes, blazing blue orbs of light that no longer looked pitiful or sorrow-filled, it all combined to nearly bring him to his knees with need and hunger.

When he sat her down on the edge of her bed, still covered in the ridiculous pink frilly thing and stacked with adorable stuffed creatures of all shape and form, she stared at him, seeking something, searching into his soul for an answer to a question she hadn't asked. He stepped back, just a step, far enough away to take her in, to really see her.

His gaze perused her body, still mostly covered by the dress pooled at her waist and the bra stretched taunt over her breasts. Her shoulders were mostly covered as well, hidden from him by the tousle of long, black hair. Pale, creamy skin peaked out at him as her shoulders moved with each shuddering breath she drew in.

Then without a word, she reached behind her and a moment later the lace covering her fell to her lap. He watched it drop, following its journey before bringing his eyes back to the flesh it had revealed. Magnificent was the only word he could think of and his breath hitched at the sight, caught in his throat and lodged there.

She reached behind her again and this time the strand of pearls around her throat came away in her hand and she tossed it to the table beside the bed haphazardly.

Next she raised her hands, brought them against his chest and gave a little push, sending him nearly stumbling back a few paces in his stunned state. Once he was far enough away, she stood and slipped the dress from her hips, letting it pool at her feet. Again his focus followed the material as it fell away from her before traveling back up the expanse of skin it had exposed.

Her legs were covered in a pair of sheer black nylons. Their band circled her upper thigh and drew his eye there before it moved the last few inches to take in the panties that matched the bra she'd already discarded.

He felt like an idiot, standing there, hands at his sides, mouth hanging open and too overwhelmed by the sight of her to move. He was paralyzed, debilitated utterly by her. Powerless, and that was something new for him. He'd never been rendered powerless by a woman before. But the image of her, sweet, lovely, wholesome Annie, in nothing but sheer thigh highs and a pair of black lace panties was more than he could handle.

She absolutely held all the power suddenly and the quiet, demur smile on her lips said she knew it. She sat back down on the edge of the bed and her hands went to the band of nylon around her thigh.

Something about the movement brought him back to himself and he quickly stepped forward and went to his knees in front of her, pushing her hands away and exploring the material with his own fingertips instead. Then slowly, so very slowly, he rolled, first the right one then the left down her incredibly, long leg, grazing her skin as he went and sending a shudder through her. He had a moment to wonder how it was possible for her legs to be so long when she barely stood five and half feet tall. But following the length of all that leg he realized it was because, she was all leg. All perfectly shaped, toned, unmarred, creamy leg.

He stopped his upward journey at her knee and took a moment to hold it in his hand before he moved in to lay an opened mouth kiss to the back of it, pausing long enough to swirl his tongue and taste the saltiness of her skin. He looked up to find her propped on her arms stretched to the bed behind her and her head fallen back on her shoulders. The dreamy look on her face, eyes closed, lips slightly parted, hair falling around her, was enough to make his ego purr happily.

She raised her hips to assist him when his fingers hooked in the waist of the panties and he made short work of dragging them away and giving them a toss over his shoulder. Then he swept his fingers up her inner thigh, lingeringly, taking in every little nuance of the feel of her skin under his fingertips. She bucked and groaned, low and deep in her throat, when his knuckles brushed across her heat. He leaned into her, spurred on by her eager response, and tasted her, explored every inch of her, inside and out with his tongue, his lips and his fingers until she was crying out, thrashing her body beneath him and fisting the frilly, pink comforter in her tiny hands. His name falling from those ruby red lips in the throes of her passion was his ultimate undoing, better than he ever imagined it might be, doing things to his own body that he couldn't even comprehend, and stirring him into quick action.

He got to his feet and stripped off what was left of his own clothing, ignoring the nip in the air as bared himself. He paused to hastily snatched the condom from his wallet. And when he found her again she'd taken the moment to pull back the blankets and slid under them. She held them up, waiting patiently for him to join her. Once he was there, leaning over her, covering her with his body, sheltering her from the cold with his warmth, she dropped the blanket into place around them and her legs went to his waist again as if on instinct and she wrapped her arms around his shoulder, pulling him down for a kiss.

His hand palmed her breast and she groaned into his open mouth when his thumb scrapped across her taunt nipple. He leaned down to taste it and her thighs tightened around him when he sucked the rosy bud into his mouth. Her hips bucked and her hands fisted in his hair when he scrapped his teeth against it and nipped gently. She writhed and groaned when he let it go and moved to the valley between her breasts, laying a wet caress to the spot before moving to her other breast.

Then suddenly, her hand fell from his hair and landed on his shoulder. She used it to push him away. When he looked up to see why, she was pleading with her eyes. He understood, knew what she needed without words. Her eyes said it all. He made quick work of rolling the condom on with a practice hand and lined his body up with hers. Her legs went right back to his hips, pulling him closer, urging him, ardently.

He resisted her feverish prompting and paused, poised right at her entrance. His eyes found hers and their gazes locked, blue on blue, lust and need and something else, something deeper, something unspoken, yet huge, bubbling between them. When he moved forward it was slowly, deliberately. He took his time and reveled in the feel of her inner muscles caressing him inch by tantalizing inch.

Neither of them blinked, each watching as every emotion played out. Her face was so open, so unguarded and candid, he suddenly felt all his walls fall away, his mask stripped off and all at once he was the vulnerable one, the needy one, the helpless one. He'd never been so swept away, so utterly caught up in an emotional tidal wave like the one he found himself in the middle of.

Her hands fell from his forearms which were braced on either side of her head and her fingers laced through his as he began to move, tentatively, gingerly, like he was testing her body, trying it on, judging how well it fit. It fit perfectly, custom made just for him. Everything about her was a perfect fit, every one of her curves an ideal match for each of his planes. Everywhere they touched, her body met his, matched him and clicked into place with flawless harmony.

_This is how this is supposed to be._ It was a fleeting thought and one almost lost on a wave of sensation overload when she shifted under him without warning and he found himself sheathed even deeper inside her.

Suddenly it was all too much, too much feeling, too much emotion, too much everything and he broke her gaze by throwing his head back and clenching his eyes shut tight, desperately struggling to just hold on. He wasn't ready to let go yet, hadn't had enough of the feel of her wrapped around him.

It was a battle he had no hope of winning when she tensed and her muscles clamped down on him, squeezing so tightly it was almost painful.

Then the world shattered around him and with one last, violent thrust of his hips he lost all control.

He vaguely remembered yelling out something in the moments before everything became nothing, something he'd never said to anyone in his life. He was so completely gone he couldn't be sure of anything.

_I think_ _I just told Annie that I loved her, _was his last conscious thought.


	13. Chapter 13

Annie wasn't sure which was heavier, the sudden, nearly oppressive tension in the room or the chill that had settled in the air to the degree she could nearly see her breath when she exhaled a long deep breath in an attempt to return her heartbeat to a more normal level.

Jeff moved to the bed beside her. She scooted to the side giving him plenty of room because, honestly, she wasn't sure what she should do. Did she snuggle in against him? Did she move her leg over more so she wasn't touching him at all? Did she pretend she hadn't heard what he said, no, not said, shouted out like he wanted the whole world to hear him? Because now it looked as if he wished a hole would open up and swallow him.

He was laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling with his brow furrowed and his lips closed tightly even as he drew in ragged breaths. The look was exactly the one she'd always feared it would be. Regretful, remorseful, full of self loathing and something else she couldn't describe and really didn't want to.

She was on her side now, arms folded in front of her breasts and hands tucked under her chin. The tautness of her shoulders was causing them to ache and she shifted, trying to relive the pressure.

Then suddenly Jeff started, like he'd just remembered she was there and reached out to place his hand over her hip. She wasn't exactly sure of what to do with that. Was it an invitation or placation? It was all so confusing and all at once she was angry. Angry at herself for letting this happen before they were ready. Angry at him because of his reaction. Angry at the universe for using him to deliver yet another blow to her that evening.

Apparently, her anger was loud enough even in the silence that he heard it or maybe he felt it in her eyes that were boring holes into his shoulder. Either way, he turned his head and when she glanced up at his face what greeted her made all the anger seep away just as quickly as it filled her up. He was smiling, a soft, gentle, tender smile that held no repentance or apology like she feared it would.

She tried to return his smile with a similar one of her own, but she knew she fell short when he shifted suddenly, rolling to his side to face her and his hand moved from her hip to her cheek where it rested as he stared at her face for a handful of silent moments. "What is it?" he asked when he apparently didn't find the answers he was looking for on his own.

Her heart, which had finally managed to find a resting rhythm, skipped a beat at the concern in his eyes as he watched her.

"Nothing," she tried to reassure him.

"Something is wrong." He told her with absolute certainty in his voice. "I can see it. Tell me."

"Really," she replied, wrapping her hand around the wrist that lead to the hand still cupping her cheek. "Nothing is wrong."

He inched towards her, still staring at her face like he expected her to break down any second. "Are you cold? It has gotten really cold in here."

"No," she said. "I'm fine." And it was that moment that goosebumps broke out over her arm and shoulder.

His face broke into that smile again, the warm, tender smile from before. "You are such a liar."

He didn't wait for her reply this time, instead he pulled her into his chest and wrapped her arm around her, holding her tightly and offering the warmth of his body. She sank into it because she really was cold and because there was nothing she wanted to do more. It surprised her, though. She'd never thought of Jeff as a cuddler. But here he was, holding her, resting his head on top of hers. His fingers were tracing lazy circles up her spine as the quiet overtook them once again.

It lasted for a long time, this time, both of them just lost in the feel of each other. The steady, droning sound of his heart under her ear and the rhythmic cadence of his breathing nearly lulled her to sleep. In fact she was just about to drift, caught in that place between awake and dreaming when he voice cut into the silence.

"You said you called your parents earlier?" It was a question and she nodded in answer.

"I did, but no one answered. They're in San Francisco according to the voice mail, celebrating my brother's residency," she replied.

If he was going to pretend like nothing happened, she could go along with that, for now anyway. This was too nice an opportunity to mess up with a heavy, emotional, discussion about unintentional declarations of love. She could ignore the elephant if he could.

He glanced down at her, pulling away enough to see her face. "You have a brother?"

"I have an adopted brother," she muttered, making sure he knew how distasteful she found the subject.

"And he's a doctor?"

"He was just finishing med school last time I talked to them, but that was almost four years ago, so yeah, I guess he's a doctor now."

"Why'd you call them tonight if you haven't talked to them in so long?" he pressed.

She sighed deeply and heartily and tried to form an answer that didn't sound crazy. "I don't know. It's Christmas and I was feeling so alone and I thought maybe enough time had passed that they might consider talking to me again. It was silly, I suppose. I'm almost glad they didn't answer. I'm not sure what I would have said to them anyway."

"What do you mean they might consider talking to you again? I thought you were the one that wasn't talking to them."

Most people made that assumption and she never readily corrected them, though she'd never out and out lied about her relationship with her parents. She just didn't share anything about them if she could help it.

But now there was no getting around the truth without lying and she didn't want to do that with him. She'd never lied to him and she wasn't about to start now, no matter how painful and embarrassing that truth was.

She did pull away from him, however and brought a handful of blankets with her when she sat up and folded her knees Indian style. She found a place on the wall behind him to stare at as she spoke. "My parents dropped me off at rehab and told me I'd made a mess out of my life and I had to fix it on my own. They told me they were done with me and I haven't spoken to them since."

Her eyes darted to his face as she swiped at a tear on her cheek that she hadn't managed to fight back. He was staring at her like he hadn't understood what she said, mouth opened and eyes quizzical as he watched her. "What?" he finally managed around his shock.

She shook her head, not wanting to repeat herself again. "I guess I can see their point. I did make a mess of everything."

"No, no, no," he said as he shot off the bed and pulled her into his chest. "That's not the way it works. Parents don't do that to their children. They stand by them, no matter what."

"Not mine," she answered. "It really is okay. I was never their priority anyway and I'm fine on my own."

"What do you mean you weren't their priority?"

"Well, Leland, that's my brother, he was there before me. They were always busy with him. I don't think they ever wanted more than just one child and then there I was. So they just had to deal with me."

The minute they fell quiet again, her stomach gave a loud, hardy shout out in protest against the fact that she hadn't eaten all day.

Jeff pulled away and got out of the bed, though the look on his face the minute he left the blankets said it was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Where are you going? You'll freeze out there."

"And you'll starve in here. So I'm going to make us something to eat. Stay here where it's warm. I'll be right back." He snatched up his pants and quickly slid into them, though he didn't bother with the button so the dark, blue denim sat loose and low around his narrow hips.

Annie grabbed the comforter from the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders before getting up and following along behind him when he left the room.

He stopped when he heard her footsteps and paused long enough to shake his head. Then before she knew it she was in his arms and he was kissing her again. "I thought I told you to stay where it was warm. There's no need in both of us freezing."

"But I'm the one that's hungry," she protested lamely.

"Alright, fine," he conceded. "But stay under the blanket. Everyone would kill me if I let you catch pneumonia."

She took off after him again when he let her go. "I see, so your concern for my welfare is actually just you watching out for yourself."

He turned to her and flashed her that smile that always made her toes curl. "I'm all about the self-preservation."

A few minutes later, she was standing against the counter beside the fridge and he was busily stirring a pan on the stove. He'd turned the oven on, using it to offer some kind of warmth to the frigid air.

"So what happened at your Mother's? Was it what you thought? Is she getting married again?" Annie asked, around a cheddar flavored cracker she was snacking on while she waited for real food.

He nodded. "It was exactly like I thought and he is exactly what I suspected." He turned that smile on her again. "I give it six months, tops."

"Jeff!" Annie chided him with her tone. "Don't be like that. Maybe it'll be good. How do you know it won't?"

"Experience," he muttered. "This will be her fifth husband and the longest any of them lasted was a year.

"Really? Wow, what about your father? How long was she married to your father?"

He chuckled suddenly. "You know I always forget about him. So I guess this will be her sixth and the longest was nine years."

"How old were you when they slip up?"

He came to stand in front of her. "I was nine years old."

"Oh, so they got married-"

"Because of me and I always suspected they may have gotten divorced because of me," he said, before leaning in and snatching a kiss.

"All kids think that. It's hardly ever true," she retorted. "Why would you think it was your fault?"

He chuckled again, still with his body against hers and she felt the rumble of it against her chest. "Because before my father left, sulking away in shame, he looked at me and said, 'This is all your fault,'. That pretty much cleared up any confusion I had about what was going on."

Annie felt the smile slip from her face as the horror of his words caught up with her brain. "That's awful. I'm sure he didn't mean it."

Jeff shrugged and stepped even further into her. "Yeah, well, I haven't heard from him since, so..."

She put her arms around his shoulders. "We should get awards for having the worst parents ever."

"We didn't have the worst parents. They certainly weren't the best, but they weren't the worst," he assured her.

"Aren't you cooking something?" she asked, looking over his shoulder towards the stove.

"It's heating," he said, his voice a whisper as he moved in closer.

"Aren't you afraid it'll burn?" she said on a pant as his lips found the column of her throat and he began to dibble on it gently.

"Not really, besides don't you think it would be nice of you to share the blanket while we wait?" he answered, wiggling his way under the comforter with her as he stroked his hands up her sides.

He raised her up, sitting her down on the counter behind her while he begin to nip at her bottom lip.

"You are going to burn our dinner," she warned him even as she buried her hands in his hair and held his mouth against her neck.

His teeth grazed her skin sending a shudder through her and her legs moved around his thighs drawing him in closer. He took that as an invitation to grind his hips into hers, letting the roughness of his jeans scrape against her heat and causing her to throw her head back and gasp.

"I've never done this before," she breathed as he grabbed her thighs and scooted her toward the edge of the counter.

"Yes, you have. Not that long ago. Surely you remember," he teased.

She giggled and moaned at the same time. "I mean in the kitchen."

"I figured it was a good place to start," he replied, bringing her bottom half flush against his. "since I intend to hit every room in the apartment before this blizzard ends."


	14. Chapter 14

He didn't actually remember falling asleep. He remembered lying on his back with Annie draped over his chest like a broken rag doll. He was no better, quite literally unable to move beyond the lackadaisical running of his fingers through her hair, hair that was so soft, so luxurious he couldn't seem to make himself stop touching it. Every time she moved it, it sent a whiff of vanilla and lavender into the air and Jeff found himself over and over again wanting to bury his face in those raven locks and stay there forever.

They'd been talking about something, he couldn't really remember what, it was all kind of an exhaustion-induced blur, but he knew it wasn't anything important.

No, the important thing he'd said was being well and truly ignored. He appreciated that. Not that he didn't mean it, he was fairly certain he did, in fact. He'd pretty much came to the conclusion before he ever came here and the last few hours had in no way diminished the sentiment. If anything, he felt more strongly about her now than he had when he arrived to find her so broken and ruined. He just hadn't wanted to say it the first time, EVER, like that. His timing sucked.

Now as he blinked himself awake and surveyed his surroundings, it was surprise that first came to him. Apparently, the radiator had decided it wasn't as dead as they thought. The room was warm, almost toasty, in fact. The blankets, which they'd been huddled under before falling asleep were in a heap around the foot of the bed.

And Annie was, well, Annie was shocking him, once again. But what really startled him, what really left him not knowing how to react, was himself. Annie had slid from his chest sometime during the night and ended up on her side, facing away from him. She wasn't clinging to him. She wasn't cuddled up against him so tightly he couldn't breath. Actually she wasn't touching him at all. But what was also apparent was that he'd followed her because now here he was laying on his own side with his arm wrapped around her waist and his face buried in all that beautiful hair.

What the hell was he doing? He didn't spoon! Jeff Winger WAS NOT a spooner. Yet, here was the proof. Here was the irrefutable evidence that said he did, indeed, spoon.

Now in the last handful of hours, he'd not only spooned, but cuddled, talked, and lest he forget the very loud declaration of love that he still didn't know what to do about.

What the hell had Annie Edison done to him?

It had to be some kind of magic. She'd worked some sort of spell. That had to be it. It was the only explanation that made any sense. And the fact that that explanation actually made sense to him made all of this even more ridiculous.

And the worst part was, the absolute worst thing was that even now, fully awake and completely in control of himself, he couldn't make himself get the hell out of that bed. He couldn't even let her go enough to get on his own side of it before she woke up and found him draped over her like some kind of lovesick, desperate, Emo teenager.

Then she shifted and it was too late to even to try to move anymore. He'd been caught. He didn't even know how to talk himself out this. In a few moments, she'd wake up enough to realized where she was and where he was and she would know.

She would understand exactly how much power she had.

This was terrifying and embarrassing. He never let anyone have this much control over him. Situations like this were exactly why he didn't do sleepovers. Well, really, that wasn't true. He'd never been in a situation like this. The reserve of this, the girl being all clinging and needy in the morning, that was why he didn't do sleepovers. He had no idea what to think about this. This was completely new and it was a circumstance he'd never imagined himself in so he had no plan for how to deal with it.

She moved again, this time gently easing herself away from him. He almost instinctively tightened his hold. He didn't want to let her go. He wasn't ready for her to be that far away from him and again, it was ridiculous! He managed to get enough of a grip on himself to let her disentangle from him. He closed his eyes and played possum as she got out of the bed and quietly padded out of the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

He must have drifted back to sleep because the next thing he was aware of was the delicious smell of fresh coffee mixed with the unmistakeable aroma of bacon wafting in from the kitchen.

She was making breakfast and now he had a decision to make. Did he just lay there and ignore all the wonderful scents beckoning him out of bed, or did he give in, man up and just go find her?

His stomach gave a hardy growl and his mouth watered as they offered their votes. It was his pride and ego that he was having the problem with, both felt as if he'd betrayed them and they were right, he had. He let her get to him, something he made a point of never doing. He 'd worked too hard at not caring to go and blow it all now.

And he realized, with a touch of Karmic irony, that what really bothered him was when he said 'I love you' she didn't say it back. She still hadn't. How many women had he done that to? How many times had someone told him they loved him and he hadn't returned the statement? He couldn't even remember. Now here he was, confused, embarrassed and completely unsure of himself. He'd never, ever been insecure in his life. The one thing he could always count on was the fact that he had complete confidence in himself.

But lying there, hiding from her certainly wasn't adding to his sense of self respect, so he got up, slid on his pants which were once again in a discarded heap on the floor and took off to find her and breakfast.

He absolutely hated the way his knees suddenly felt weak when he first saw her. It was so freaking insane the way his heart fluttered when she turned and offered him a bright, cheerful smile in greeting.

"I was just coming to get you. I made breakfast," she chirped happily and just the sound of her voice, so gleeful and perky made him feel better, brighter, more awake and peppy than the smell of the coffee brewing in the corner. He hated morning people, abhorred them. Now, here he was absolutely taken in by her.

He took her in his arms as soon as he was close enough because all he could think about was feeling that infectious smile against his own lips and he got the added bonus of sliding his fingers over the utterly soft satin of her pink robe when he wrapped his arms around her hips.

"Good morning." He told her, not even bothering to hide his own smile despite the fact that he was sure it was anything but cool.

"The heater's working," she said needlessly.

"I noticed that," he answered, while letting her go reluctantly and going to his place at the table which was already set with two plates of steaming food that looked scrumptious and a cup of coffee that was too tempting to resist. "How does the weather look?"

"It's still snowing. I figured it would have quit by now, but it hasn't," she replied taking her own place and diving into her plate with gusto.

One of the things he really did love about Annie was the way she ate. Her table manners were impeccable, that was true, but she ate like she meant it. She had never been one of those women that backed away from food because she was afraid someone would see her consuming it. She was not an 'I'll just have a salad' girl. She enjoyed food and had no problems expressing that joy. It was honest and real and so very, very Annie he had to smile as he watched her from across the table.

She sat her fork down and took up her coffee when she noticed him looking and offered a coy smile around her cup. "What? Why are you staring at me like that? You keep staring at me. It makes me nervous."

"I'm sorry," he said, purposefully looking away. "I don't mean to stare." He was only successful at averting his eyes for a moment before she drew him right back in. "You are just so incredibly beautiful."

Her smile widened as she sat her cup aside and rolled her eyes. She was nervously playing with a strand of her hair, twining it tightly around her finger.

"So what are we doing today?" he asked, changing the subject because he saw how uncomfortable it was making her.

"You're staying?"

He chuckled. "I'm not sure I could leave even if I wanted to, but I really don't want to." Then he added because he couldn't help himself, "Unless you want me to go?"

"Of course I don't want you to go. You are welcome to stay as long as you want," she assured him.

It seemed like she didn't notice the apprehension in his voice when he made the statement and he was glad for that. The less she knew about how he felt about all this the better. He was having enough trouble dealing with his emotions without adding hers, whatever they might be, to the mix.

She looked up at him, all of a sudden timid and shy.

"What?" he asked, curious at the sudden change in her expression.

"I was just wondering..." she began, then cleared her throat and sat up straighter.

Jeff tensed instantly. Was this it? Had she decided it was time to have the talk that seemed to be hanging over their heads just wanting for one of them to initiate it?

"What were you wondering, Annie? Come on, spit it out," he said, wanting to just get the whole thing over with now.

"Have you ever made a snowman?"

His shock turned into a loud hardly laugh as the tension left his body in a gush. "Of course I have when I was a kid. Haven't you?"

She shook her head sadly. "No, I never had anyone to help me and I would have felt like an idiot out there alone, freezing my- well you know, playing in the snow."

"Well, then, I guess we know what we're going to do today," he announced.

"Really?" She looked up happily.

"No one should go through life, especially in Colorado, without freezing their butt off, playing in the snow."

Getting outside was an ordeal. He'd actually had to climb through one of the windows sitting to either side of the front door of the building. A snowbank had made the actual door unusable. Annie had tried to talk him out of it, told him it was fine, they could play in the snow some other time. But the snowbank was more than he could deal with. He suddenly felt trapped, not by her, but by the building.

By the time he'd shimmied himself through the window, one of her neighbors, Rob, he thought he heard her call him, had come out to find out what was happening. When he saw the situation, he went to his apartment and retrieved a shovel (what he was doing with a huge shovel in his apartment, Jeff hadn't bothered to ask). Then he joined him and the two men worked for nearly an hour clearing the snow enough to open the front door.

So he was exhausted when the first snowball hit him in the side of the face. It was the only excuse he could come up with for the ease with which she'd managed to nail him. He had no defense for the second attack that caught him in the back of the head.

Rob had been joined by his boyfriend, Michael and the two of them watched uproariously as Annie, hidden behind one of the cars parked by the street, lobbed ball after ball at him all while giggling furiously and having the time of her life.

He was unceremoniously getting his ass kicked by a girl. And not just any girl, Annie, the girliest of girls. He had to figure out a way to redeem himself. This could not be allowed to happen.

He gathered himself and took off towards the side of the building, getting pelted the whole way, and not breathing until he was hidden by the tall, brick structure. Once there, he stood and panted for a handful of seconds and cursed the fact that it was obvious he had a few years on her. That youthful, exuberance was making itself apparent when he caught a flash of her quilted pink coat dashing behind a tree not far away. How she thought she would stay hidden in the bright fuchsia thing was beyond him. Even if the coat hadn't been an issue her joyous laughter, although she was obviously trying her best to muffle it, sounded out in the quiet that always seemed to accompany snowfall. It was like the entire world hushed when it snowed to listen the falling flakes.

Knowing he had no time to lose, he gathered a handful of snow in his palm and made short work of forming it into a tight ball, then he repeated the process several more times, leaving a pile of ammunition at his boots.

Then he waited for her to make her move. He didn't have to wait for long. As soon as he caught a glimpse of pink darting from behind her tree, he struck, lobbing ball after ball in her direction, listening to her howls of uproarious laughter as he found his target.

But instead of retreating, she ignored the onslaught and came at him full throttle until she was little more than a few foot paces away.

"Okay," she yelled around her panting breath. "I surrender. You win."

"You're holding a snowball in your hand. I'm not coming out until you lay down arms," he shouted.

He watched as the ball of white fluffy powder fell from her hand and landed at her boot soundlessly. "Happy now?"

"Let me see your other hand," he said, peering at her from around the side of the building.

She held up her empty, gloved hand and spread her fingers wide, showing him that she was hiding nothing.

Satisfied, he stepped out from around the building and in a flash of motion, she scooped to the ground, grabbed a handful of snow and threw it him so quickly he had no time to react.

He advanced on her as he brushed the snow from his shoulder, his face set in a dangerous, predatory glare.

"I'm sorry," she was saying as she back stepped towards her tree once again. "I didn't mean to."

"You didn't mean to?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"It was an accident," she claimed lamely.

"An accident?"

She was nearly even with the tree again, a quick dart to the side would have her safely hidden. He didn't plan on letting that happen.

"I have a condition." She told him.

"What kind of condition?" he asked, still advancing towards her at a slow, albeit, steady pace.

She scooped down again, grabbed another ball of snow and tossed it before skidding sideways and making for the cover of the tree. "It's called hating to lose!" she squealed out gleefully as she fled.

He was close enough now that she had no chance. He covered the distance between them in one long stride and reached out, hooking his arm around her waist to pull her in. Her momentum was more than he anticipated and it drove him backwards as her small form slammed into his chest.

They both went tumbling in a tangle of arms and legs that were hindered by the heaviness of their winter wear.

He hit the ground first. She quickly followed, landing square in the middle of his chest and causing all the air to leave his lungs with a whoosh. Her face was startled when his eyes found hers, but the minute she saw his smile, it shifted as laughter bubbled from her lips. His joined hers and soon the afternoon quiet was taken over by the sound.

They spent the next three hours much the same way. He tried to make sure there was no snow experience that she missed, the snowball fight, snow angels, a snowman. Anything he could think of that she might have missed out on while growing up. He'd even tried, and ultimately failed, to find a sled. That was an experience that would have to be table for next time.

By the time the darkness began to descend, they were frozen, exhausted and starving since they hadn't paused for food since leaving the breakfast table. Annie offered to cook again and he readily agree to let her handle that while he found a nice, hot bath to thaw in.

The steam was still rising from the water when she knocked softly on the door.

The light from the hall flooded the candlelit room when she stepped inside after he told her to come in.

She closed the door behind her, casting the tiny space back into the softness of the candle's glow and smiled at him as she handed him a mug of something with steam rolling off of it.

"Hot Chocolate," she explained with a timid shrug when he accepted the mug and sniff at it before taking a sip.

He said a quick thanks around a much hearty drink before setting the mug on the floor beside the tub and looking up at her.

She was once again wearing the pink satin robe he'd enjoyed earlier that morning and she'd pulled her hair back from her face in a ponytail at the nap of her neck.

"How's dinner coming?"

"I made lasagna," she announced. Then she paused and quickly amended, "Okay, I opened the box with the frozen lasagna and put it in the oven. It'll be ready in an hour."

He nodded and gave her a lingering look from her painted red toenails to the top of her head, perusing her unhurriedly. "So an hour, huh?" he said, letting the suggestion of his look pour over into his voice.

"That's what the box says," she shrugged again, seemingly oblivious to the implications of his tone and his gaze.

He shifted, causing the water to stirred into waves around him. "What will we do for the next hour while we wait?"

She looked away from him hiding her face behind a coy mask of innocence. "We could play scrabble," she suggested and he knew the minute the words left her mouth that she was teasing, toying with him.

Somehow she'd come closer to the tub without him noticing and he suddenly realized that she was close enough he could just reach out and grab her. But he stopped himself before he made the move, mindful of the robe he'd grown quite fond of already.

"I think if it was me, I would do something about that robe before it gets ruined," he warned her.

She snatched at her chest, clutching the silky material to her with mock horror on her face. "My robe. This is my favorite robe. What is going to happen to ruin it?"

He sat up, preparing to make his move. "In a few seconds, I intend to have you in here with me, with or without the robe?" He told her, leveling her with a lustful stare.

"Is that right?" she asked, still all coy and innocent-seeming. "So," She reached to her waist, snagged the end of the belt holding the robe closed and began to tug it languorously until it finally pulled loose. "I should maybe do something like this about it?" she asked as she shrugged it from her shoulders and let it fall to pool at her feet.

He watched the garment fall away with rapt attention, completely hypnotized by the show she was offering him.

It was in that moment that he knew that she was fully aware of what she did to him and she was planning to use that knowledge every chance she got. It was classic Annie. She played the innocent so well, until that moment when coy suddenly became unabashed and innocent Annie turned into the seductress he'd discovered the night before. She turned it off and on like she was flipping a switch, using it to her full advantage.

He loved it. Loved that she could play him like that, turn him to mush so causally, so effortlessly. He shouldn't. It was something he'd always feared, but there it was and he was helpless to fight it.

He moved again, unable to take his eyes from her as she climbed into the tub with him. He didn't speak until her slightly chilled body was settled into his much warmer lap.

"You might as well enjoy that while it lasts." He told her with his lips skirting her collarbone.

"What?"

"That little demur, blushing thing you've got going on. It's only going to work for so long before it wears off," he explained.

Her hand was buried in his hair and she brought her lips to his for a moment before pulling away. "Oh, I think I can still get plenty of use out it." She was smiling now, not a bit ashamed of being called out for her ploy. She hadn't been trying to manipulate him, not underhandedly, at least. She'd known all along that he'd be able to see through her game.

"What are you going to do when it doesn't work anymore?" He wanted to know.

"I'll come up with something," she answered as she ran her hand down his chest.

His eyes fell to her hand and he watched as if moved under the line of the water. She didn't stop until her fingers were circling his already eager hardness. He closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the feel of her touch before bringing his gaze back to hers. "You know, you don't have to try so hard for me. When it comes to you, I'm easy."

"I know," she said, totally candid. "But the game is half the fun."


	15. Chapter 15

"I think I need to go home tomorrow," Jeff said and Annie did her best to keep the disappointment from showing on her face.

She'd known all along that this was coming. This entire thing had been a mistake from the start. She'd known it the minute she opened the door and found him on the other side. She'd known it the minute she let him kiss her. She'd known it the minute she'd given in to her desires and took what she wanted regardless of the consequences. She'd been running from the consequences ever since. And now, with those few, seemingly meaningless words, she knew it was time to pay those consequences.

Tomorrow, he'd be gone and all this would be over, for good. She'd done her best to enjoy him while she had him, realizing that she had better because he would be gone the first opportunity he got.

And she'd done it to herself. She'd given up a future with him for something that would last for a few precious, entirely too short days. She'd seen this coming right after their first time together. That night when he'd laid there staring up at the ceiling with a look of remorse and self loathing all over his face. True, it had only lasted a moment before he recovered and started pretending like he hadn't committed some horrible sin against nature, but what other choice did he have? He was trapped here with her until the snow allowed him to leave. She couldn't blame him for trying to make the most of a bad situation.

She'd known the moment she saw the look that this was going to be bad. She'd spent the last two days just holding on as tightly as she could, all the while sensing the end that was inevitably drawing closer with each passing second. But then, what other choice did she have? She could have called him out on his feelings and spent the two days they'd been trapped in awkward silence while they did everything they could to avoid each other in the tiny apartment that made that option impossible. But she'd chosen to go the other way and join him in making the best of a bad situation.

But now the time had come. The snow was melting, the blizzard was long gone. The streets were clear and there was nothing holding him here any longer. And just like she'd suspected, he was cutting and running.

"I guessed you would," she answered with a nod that held a touch of sadness she hadn't meant to display. She refused to let him see how much this was going to hurt her. There was no way she was going to break in front of him. She'd made her bed. She'd let this happen the wrong way, at the wrong time and now she'd deal with it.

"It's just that," he started and then paused like he wasn't sure where to go from there. She didn't help him out. If he was going to do this, he'd have to do it on his own. She certainly wasn't going to help him break her heart. "Abed and Troy will be back tomorrow and it's going to get a little crowded around here. Besides, I have a few things I should take care of. You know, water the plants, check my mail, do some laundry."

Laundry? Really? He was going to use laundry as his excuse to get away from her. "I understand. It's fine. You should go home tomorrow." She told him, keeping her voice even despite the rising anger inside her. She didn't want to ruin their last night together with a fight.

"Really? You understand?" he asked, eying her dubiously.

"Yes, Jeff, I understand. The snow is almost gone. There's no reason for you to stay any longer. We've had our fun and now it's time to go back to the real world. I get it. I'm not some child you have to explain things to. I didn't imagine you were going to stay here forever." Okay, so maybe the anger was stronger than she'd first suspected. There was an edge to her voice she hadn't meant to put there.

He sat up quickly and gave her a sideways glance. "I didn't say I thought you were a child. It's funny how it's usually you that brings that up now. Have you noticed?"

She sat up as well, dragging the sheet along with her and clutching it to her bare chest. "You might not say it, but you think it," she retorted.

"So now you're just presuming to know what I think!" he demanded.

"I saw you, Jeff. I saw the look on your face after-" she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence and hoped he wouldn't make her.

It was a dashed hope when he turned to her more fully and narrowed his eyes before saying, "After what, Annie?"

She could feel the blush rising in her cheeks, but steeled herself against it. There was no way she would let him back her down now. She knew that was his plan. He was daring her to see how far she really wanted to take all this. "After we had sex the first time," she answered with her shoulders back and her head held up proudly. She didn't even stammer over the word.

"And what is it you thought you saw?"

"Disgust, self-loathing, all of it was right there. If you could have, you would have ended this right then. I know it's true," she returned, all in now. It was time they had this out and stopped pretending. It was best to do this now instead of waiting until her roommates were on the other side of the door.

"That's what you saw, huh?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes, that's what I saw. I'm not stupid. I knew this wasn't going to last. I knew it the minute I saw that look."

"And you can't think of any other reason I might have had that look, not that I'm admitting to having a look in the first place?"

This was Jeff at his best and she'd fallen right into the trap. He was lawyering her and there really was no one better at it than him. She was all at once exhausted and her shoulders slummed as a result. She raised her hand and rubbed at her eyes before looking back at him. "Can we please not do this? It's just making it worse. Let's just both admit that this was a mistake and pretend it never happened. It'll be easier that way for both of us. You can be off the hook for defiling the precious, innocent little school girl and I can be off the hook for letting all this get way out of hand when I knew better."

His face dropped. All the anger fell away, with it went the superior, smug look he always got when he felt like he was winning an argument. And suddenly, he looked... hurt, vulnerable and sad. "You want to pretend like the last two days never happened?" he asked, his voice hollow.

"I'm just saying what you were getting around to saying. I'm just too tired to play the game tonight."

"And now you're telling me what I was going to say?"

She didn't answer, refusing to give in to this any longer. She'd had her say. It was done, over as far as she was concerned. Hopefully he'd stop if she wasn't playing along.

"All I said was I needed to do some laundry," he mumbled and she thought for just a moment that she had it all wrong, she'd misjudged his intentions. Then she remembered who she was dealing with and steeled herself against him again.

He got out of bed, snatched his pants from the floor and jerked them on quickly. Then he did the same with his shirt, not bothering with the buttons. He had his shoes in one hand and his other was on the doorknob when he stopped and looked back at her. He stayed there until she finally gave in and turned to look at him.

"It might interest you to know that the look you saw that night had nothing at all to do with the actually sex. Everything about the last two days with you has been amazing. I wasn't trying to break up with you, or let you down easy, or any other drama you have playing in your head. I was just thinking we could use a break, a few hours, a night at the most. And I have no intention of pretending all this never happened." Then he left before she had a chance to say anything else.

She caught him at the front door tugging his coat on over his still unbuttoned shirt.

"Jeff," she called out when he began to hasten his movements at hearing her approach. "Please don't go."

"I thought this was what you wanted. This way you can be off the hook for letting all this get way out of hand when you knew better," he spat when he turned to look at her.

"You know very well I don't want you to go," she sighed wearily.

"No, I don't. I'm not quite the mind reader you seem to be," he replied pointedly.

She'd grabbed her robe before following him and now she was clutching it to her chest. "Alright, if I'm so wrong about that look, tell me what it was about."

He let the shoes he was still holding fall from his hands and took a step closer to her, then he backed away and reached down to grab his shoes again. "Never mind," he muttered. "I think you're right this was a mistake. A big one."

"I'm supposed to believe that this isn't you stalling? Come on, I know you better than that."

She regretted the words the moment they left her mouth, because the second they did, the shoes dropped once again and he was just suddenly right in front of her, towering over her with an inferno raging on his face. "That look, the one you immediately assumed was all about you, the one that you took and let your insecurities run away with, that look as all about the fact that I didn't want to tell you I loved you for the first time like that. I wanted it to be something special, but since you never returned the sentiment, I guess it doesn't matter how or when I said it, does it?" he spat, more angry than she'd ever seen him.

"Oh, God," she cried as her eyes swelled with tears at hearing his confession. "I'm so sorry."

He said nothing more, instead turning on his heel and pausing to once again scoop up his shoes before walking out the door.


	16. Chapter 16

He didn't know who was outside his door banging on it for all they were worth and really he didn't much care. Getting up from his position draped over his couch and going to answer it seemed like so much effort. He was hoping if he just ignored them, they'd go away.

So far it wasn't working and now he was pretty sure he did know who it was. He could almost hear their muffled voice on the other side of the door and it made him even more determined not to answer.

Troy and Abed. They'd been home, talked to Annie and now here they were here to defend her honor. And the worst part of all this was that it was his fault. He was the one that told them this was their job now.

"We're aren't leaving, Jeff," Troy called through the door.

"We can stand out here all day," Abed agreed.

With a dissatisfied huff, Jeff rose from the couch and ambled over to the door, holding it open long enough for his two friends to step inside, then he shut it again and went back to the couch, trying to ignore their concerned looks.

Of course they were concerned. He was Jeff, the cool guy, the grown up, the responsible one. What they were seeing was sure to worry them. He hadn't shaved. He hadn't showered. In fact, all he had managed to do was get out of the clothes he'd been wearing on and off for the last two days and find an old t-shirt, an equally disgusting pair of pajama pants and his tattered, old, plaid robe. His hair was a mess. Two day old stubble covered his jaw. And he didn't care, he just didn't care.

"What happened?" Troy asked, cutting right to the chase as the two younger men filed into the living room and took up positioned in the two, gray, leather armchairs sitting to the side of his couch.

"I'm not discussing this. You two are wasting your time," He told them firmly.

"Annie's upset." Abed said. "You said it was our job to look after her and you were the last person to be with her. She must be upset over something that happened between the two of you."

Jeff sat up and looked from one of them to the other. "She didn't tell you?"

"She has locked herself in her room and won't come out." Troy informed him. "We ever tried to bribe her with cookies."

He dropped his hands to his thighs and sighed again. "Look, I'm sorry she's upset. But as you can see, I'm a little upset, too. I can't help you."

They exchanged a look between them and it was creepy, like they were speaking to each other without words. It always unnerved him when they did that.

"How are we supposed to make it better if neither of you will tell us what happened?" Abed asked, clearly at a loss for how to proceed.

"You aren't," Jeff snapped. "You can't fix this. There is no 'making it better'. Just leave it alone."

"We can't do that." Abed explained. "Annie's our friend and so are you. We have to help."

Jeff got to his feet, moved to his favorite place behind the couch and began to pace. He'd left the space open for exactly this reason. Sometimes he just needed to move. "This is something Annie and I are going to have to work out on our own."

"Is that what you're doing? Working it out?" Troy asked. "Because it looks like you're hiding from each other."

"I'm not hiding!" he defended himself.

"Then why aren't you at our place trying to talk to her?" Abed asked.

"I don't see her here trying to talk to me either." He countered.

"Was the fight her fault?" Troy asked.

Jeff stopped suddenly and rubbed his hand over his eyes. "No, but it wasn't entirely mine either."

"So you're both to blame." Abed surmised.

"I guess so. But I was the one that lost my temper. I shouldn't have." He admitted.

"Then you should apologize." Troy reasoned.

Jeff just stared at him for a long moment, not ready to give up his anger yet. She'd hurt him. Not many people got close enough to do that. And maybe that was part of the reason behind the anger. He'd let her get that close. That made him partly to blame.

"I'm not going to apologize," he said, quietly.

The two men got to their feet quickly and simultaneously as if through some unspoken agreement. "Then we'll go get her and make her apologize." Abed explained as they moved towards the door.

"You will not." Jeff answered. "Leave this alone. It's none of your business."

"Annie is our business," Troy replied immediately.

"And you're our friend, so that means so are you." Abed added.

He hurriedly stepped in front of the door before they could leave. "Please, just drop this. Annie and I will handle it."

"It doesn't look that way," Troy said and Abed nodded in agreement.

Jeff opened his mouth to tell them to back off again when a knock on the door stopped him before he got the chance.

Great, more people sticking their noses into his business. He knew this thing with Annie was a mistake.

He turned to the door and peered out of the peephole as was surprised at what he saw. But he covered it and turned back to Abed and Troy.

"See, here she is now. We'll handle this. Just go home." He told them as he opened the door and ushered them out while ushering her in at the same time.

"I'm not here for you. I just came because I knew when I heard them leave that this was where they were going and I didn't want them bothering you," she explained nervously. She was playing with her nails with her thumb and carefully looking anywhere but at him. "So now that they're gone, I'll go, too."

"We really should talk," he announced when she finally looked up at him in confusion.

"You want to talk to me?" she asked, clearly surprised.

He stepped away from the door and went back to the couch, finding a seat in the middle of it and dropping down tiredly. "Well, I wasn't planning on never speaking to you again."

She watched him carefully for a moment before timidly moving to the chair Troy had recently vacated and perching on its edge, back ramrod straight and hands carefully posed in her lap. "I'm sorry," she began. "I don't really know what to say."

He nodded. "Okay, how about I start? I'm sorry. I let things get out of control."

"Okay," she said drawing the word out slowly. "Well, I'm sorry I made assumptions instead of just asking you what was bothering you."

He chuckled. "As if I would have told you if you had asked." It was a remark pointed at himself, not at her because really that was where his true anger was. He was mad at himself.

"Alright," she said as she got up. "I guess that clears everything up. I should be going. I'll see you at the party on New Year's, right?"

She was back at the door again, practically clawing at it in her attempt to escape and when he looked closer he saw the moisture glistening in her eyes.

He went to her, stopping her before she had a chance to get the door open. "Annie, stop." He took her hands in his and she immediately snatched them away.

"Why? What else is there to say? I was right. You think this whole thing was a mistake. Now you're trying to figure out a way out without looking like the bad guy. Well," She squared her shoulders and stepped away, putting some distance between them. "I'm telling you, I get it. You aren't the bad guy. I don't hate you. I understand. Things got out of control. Now we just need to forget about it and move on."

He stood there staring for a long moment trying to figure out what he'd said to cause this reaction and for the life of him, he just couldn't so he had to ask, "What are you talking about? I never said anything like that. And I already told you, I have no intention of just forgetting about the last two days. Stop telling me to. It's not going to happen." He stopped short and took a step closer to her. "Unless... is that what you want? Do you want to just forget about everything?"

She blinked rapidly before looking up at him. "You said it yourself, things got out of control."

So that was it. He sighed and let his shoulders slum. "I didn't mean it like that. You're taking everything I say and twisting it to suit yourself."

"What?" she exclaimed. "How am I supposed to take that?" The anger was back, blazing fire at him from her eyes.

"I just meant I let things get out of control when we should have talked about things. I shouldn't have just pretended everything was okay." He tried to explain, barely holding his own temper in check.

"So you were just pretending everything was okay? The last two days were just a game for you, a way of bidding your time until the snow cleared."

He went back to the couch, flopped onto it. "I can't talk to you when you're like this. You aren't listening."

"Oh, I think I'm hearing exactly what you're trying to say," she argued.

"No, you aren't," he returned.

Something changed in her suddenly and when she spoke again there was no anger in her voice, "Okay, I'm sorry. If I'm wrong about all this then explain it to me. I'll listen," she announced as she came back to her chair and resumed her earlier position.

He opened his mouth to speak and was startled when no words came out. He tried again, wanting to find a way to make her understand but nothing came to him. Here she was willing to give him a chance and he couldn't find the right words to make this all better.

She watched him struggling for a long time before she got back to her feet. She just turned to leave when his voice finally decided to cooperate.

"Please don't go," he said, quietly, shakily and he hated everything about the sound.

"Then tell me why I should stay. Right now, this," She tossed her arms out in a wild gesture. "This is just making it all worse and really soon one of us is going to say something we can't come back from."

He shifted, turning towards her and took a deep breath, readying himself to try again. God, he hated this, talking about his feeling and sharing and all of it. This was why he avoided relationships. He didn't like it when things got complicated.

"I messed up," he said finally and she narrowed her eyes and folded her arms over her chest in response. So he quickly jumped right back in again before she simply turned and left. "I should have explained myself that night. I shouldn't have just tried to ignore things I shouldn't have ignored."

Her eyes widened a bit as she considered his words. Then she sat back down and waited for him to continue.

"I'm the one with all the experience. I knew better than to pretend nothing happened when something did." He watched her tense for a moment, but she seemed to get a hold of herself and push it away with a deep breath.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous," she said speaking for the first time in a while. "What is this thing that happened that you keep talking about? I don't understand. Can you please just say what you mean? Stop talking around whatever it is. What mistake do you think you made?"

He closed his eyes and drew in a shaky breath. "I said I loved you."

She looked confused for a minute. "I know," she replied after a second's contemplation.

"I shouldn't have." he pressed and immediately she was on her feet again.

"Now I understand. Look, I understand. I wasn't holding it against you." she said, heading for the door again. "So now that that is all taken care of, now can we move on?"

He followed her, moving so fast she didn't have time to react and before she could register what was happening he was in front of her, baring down on her. "Would you stop trying to leave?" His teeth were gritted and he knew he must have looked like a wild man. Her expression said he was right. She looked almost frightened of him.

She backed away, moving until she hit the wall behind her. He followed her, matching her step for step. "What does that mean, you aren't holding it against me? What is it that you think you understand?" he demanded.

No one in the world could inspire the kind of anger in him that she did, well maybe Pierce. But Pierce normally deserved it. Annie rarely deserved the weight of the ire she aroused. But this was getting stupid. Why did she always have to just assume she knew what he was thinking? Why couldn't she just take what he said at face value and not read things into it that he hadn't meant?

She squirmed against the wall and when she spoke her voice was little more than a squeak. "I just meant that I understood you didn't mean it. I know some times things get out of hand, especially right then. I was just trying to tell you that I understood. It's no big deal." She struggled to explain and every word that escaped her lips just made him more incensed.

"It's no big deal?" he exclaimed. "I've never said that to anyone ever!"

"And like you said, you didn't mean to say it to me, so let's just let it go."

"I never said I didn't mean it. I said I didn't mean to say it then," he spat.

She stilled immediately and her face held a mixture of horror, shock and too many more things that he couldn't determine. Finally, she got it. She understood.

She covered her mouth as if she were trying to keep something in. Apparently it was too strong to be deterred because a moment later, she gasped his name.

The sound only served to twist his anger, turning it into something he had no hope of containing or controlling and before he could stop himself, before she could protest, he had her in his arms.

Her arms came around his biceps clutching them desperately as he cupped her jaw in his hand. He tilted her face, garner for a better angle and giving her a chance to tell him to back off if that was what she wanted. God, he didn't want her to tell him to back off.

He captured her lips with his, stepping into her at the same time and letting go of everything that was bubbling inside him. Her back hit the wall behind her as he moved closer and he felt the air leave her lungs in a gush of air across his lips. He tried to stop, to see if she was alright, but as he made the move her hands tightened on his arms and her lips found his again.

He gave into it, smothering her body with his, pressing her backwards. His hands dropped to her waist and hers moved around his shoulders. Now she was the one pressing in tighter, pulling him closer.

He was having trouble keeping up with what was happening. Everything was moving so fast. The sound of their labored breaths was only interrupted by the abrupt noise of ripping material and the occasional groan.

Something crashed to the floor as he grab her to him and lifted her into his arms. He didn't know or care what it was. The minute her legs left the floor they found his waist and he held there, suspended in the air with her back to the wall.

Then before he could make since of anything, he was inside her, throwing his body into hers feverishly and she met him move for move, all the while clutching at him frantically.

She pulled his hair and he nipped at the perfect flesh of her throat in response. He hissed as as her nails dug into the flesh of his shoulders. She groaned when her back contacted the wall with a touch too much force.

His hands went to her thighs, grabbing her more securely. He lifted her from the wall and walked them the short distance to the couch. Once there, he fell into it, still holding her tightly, still buried as deeply as he could get inside her.

She took to the new position immediately, settling herself on his lap and grinding her hips into his with a force that caused his whole body to jerk in response.

Her eyes were clutched tightly closed, her head thrown back and her hands still gripping his shoulders in a vice. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Normally she was breath-taking, but here, like this, she was mind-blowing.

The thoughts were still playing in his head when suddenly she tensed and he had no time to brace himself for the impact. As soon as her muscles gripped him, it was over. She fell into her release, dragging him right along with her.

She'd collapsed against him and he held her there, his arms securely holding her to his chest as they both struggled to draw air into their straining lungs.

When she got herself more or less under control her lifted her head from his shoulder and smiled down at him. "We broke the lamp."

"Fuck the lamp," he panted still struggling to regain his composure.

She pulled herself away from him and reluctantly, he let her go because at the moment there was precious little he could do to stop her. His entire body still hummed and tingled. His chest still labored with each gasp of breath.

She didn't move far though and for that he was grateful. He wasn't ready for her to go and she seemed to understand that or maybe she wasn't ready to let him go anymore than he was. Either way, she only pulled back far enough to find his eyes with hers. And when she did, he felt his already struggling chest tighten at seeing her face. She smiled down at him with so much tenderness, so much devotion and passion he almost looked away. He couldn't ever recall anyone ever looking at him like that and he wasn't sure what he'd done to deserve it from her now.

Her tongue snaked out to wet her lips and he watched, completely fascinated by the move. Her hand came up to cup his jaw and he leaned into her touch loving the warmth of her palm against his skin. "Just for the record this time so there is no confusion or questions, I love you, too."

He chuckled and brushed a wave of hair from her shoulder. "I love you, Annie."

She smiled at that and reached out to take his hand. "Now that all that is out of the way. I think that a shower is in order," she paused and looked at him questioningly. "That is if you up for it, Old Man."

"Old Man?" He grabbed her and in an incredible show of strength and fortitude he lifted them both from the couch and started off towards the bathroom at the back of his apartment. "I'll show you who's old." he grouched. It was a question of honor now.

She giggled giddily, and instead of hating the noise like was normal for him, he found himself drowning in the sound and deciding right then that it was one of the best sounds he ever heard.

-THE END-


End file.
